Goodbye
by daydreamer10101
Summary: Lois Lane doesn't believe in saying goodbye. But when the world crashes down around her, what else is there to say? Clois. *Slight spoilers for season 8*
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **_Long_ time since I've posted something (I blame classes and my upcoming midterms), but Hex was so unbelieveably good that I ditched homework and got into the writing spirit. Originally, I was going to make this a little one-shot, but if you guys are enjoying it, I've got some ideas so I'll continue. You just have to let me know. :)

**Spoiler Alert: **Slight spoilers for the upcoming season finale. But nothing major, I swear. This is mainly me interpreting a spoiler that (let's face it) _everyone_ saw coming.

**Disclaimer: **Trust me, if I owned anything Clark and Lois would make out at least twice an episode and both Tom Welling and Justin Hartley would spend 95% of their scenes shirtless :)

* * *

Lois Lane was no psychic. To her, psychics had no merit; they were the fake carnival acts and stupid hotlines that cost a paycheck per minute. She didn't trust them or put any stock in what they had to say. After all, the last one she had been to had dropped a bunch of hints about the love of her life being some sort of cross dressing pilot.

She smirked as she clicked the end of her pen. She was sure that _that _would go over well with the general.

"_Hi Daddy, this is my fiancé. Oh sure, we have lots in common. For example, we're both the same dress size!"_

She held back a laugh. Not in this lifetime. She preferred her men to actually look like men. So dresses or tights with mini skirts were off the table. She preferred men who wore suits, or dress shirts, or…or flannel, or plaid…or of course, nothing at all…

_One more word on that train of thought, and no more coffee for you, Lane,_ she thought sternly.

She shook herself mentally. She had to snap out of it. She had, after all, made the decision to move on from Clark Kent and keep their relationship safely in the friends/co-worker zone. She had even gone on a date since the whole stood-up-by-Clark debacle. She had figured it was the best thing to do; let him know that there were no hard feelings and move on with her life.

But damn it, she hadn't realized it would be this hard.

Stupid, utterly blind, annoyingly sexy farmboy.

Speaking of the farmboy… Her eyes travelled over his empty seat across from hers. She wondered where he'd gotten to _now_. She had seen him once this morning before he had made up one of his lame excuses and bolted from his desk and out the door. She was so accustomed to it now that she hardly noticed when he did so. But this was an abnormally long time to be MIA, even for him.

Lois pulled out her cell phone, ready to send him a text when she paused. No service available.

"What?" she murmured to herself. "That's impossible. The Planet _always_ has great reception. Must be my phone."

She turned her head as one of her co-workers passed her desk. "Hey Jess? Is your cell working? Mine isn't, and I want to make sure it isn't the phone company trying to say that I haven't paid my bill or something."

Jess reached into pocket and pulled out her phone. She frowned at the screen. "No, I haven't got any service either."

A few people nearby started checking their phones, looking confused as they did so.

Someone across the room shouted, "Hey, what the hell? The internet just went down!"

There was a slight rush as people went to check their own computers. Lois swallowed loudly, her eyebrows pinching slightly. No, Lois didn't believe in psychics, but she _did_ believe in instinct. And her internal alarm was sounding off loud and clear; something was wrong.

"What's going on?"

"This _never_ happens!"

"I don't understand!"

"Did the servers crash?"

"Lois?"

She turned at the sound of her name. Jimmy Olsen stood behind her, clutching his camera and looking confused. Lois smiled at her friend, though her expression remained worried. "Hey Jimmy. Finally coming back to work? I heard a rumor that you quit."

"Changed my mind. But forget that," Jimmy glanced around. "Why is everyone acting like it's Armageddon in the bullpen?"

"Our cells and computers just went down," she explained. "There wasn't an accident nearby, was there?"

Jimmy shook his head. "Not that I saw."

A sudden tremor rocked through the floor, eliciting gasps of surprise and fear from the entire floor.

"What the hell?" Lois muttered.

"I just tried to turn on the TV to one of the news stations," a breathless intern whose name still escaped Lois announced to the basement crowd. "There's no picture right now – it's just fuzz. All the channels are like that."

"It would have to be a pretty big accident to knock out internet, TV, and cell signals," Jimmy frowned, setting his camera down on the desk and checking his phone again. "I wonder what's going on out there."

Lois chewed on her lip thoughtfully, before grabbing Jimmy's arm. "I have an idea. Come on."

She led him to one of copy rooms and shut the door behind them. "They still keep radios in the basement. Most of the upper floors use internet feeds and local news stations. There's a chance that we can get radio reception."

"Genius," Jimmy said, watching her fiddle with one of the radios.

Lois smiled. It was nice to see Jimmy get excited about a story again. After his hospital time and this fight with Chloe –

Both Lois and Jimmy jumped when the radio hissed to life.

" – _unconfirmed reports about the cause of the disturbance in downtown Metropolis have authorities wary. Hundreds of people have been pouring into Metropolis General, and so far no one has been able to paint a clear picture of what exactly is going on. Although we're hearing scattered reports of some sort of 'creature', police suspect a possible explosion is responsible for the demolished buildings and downed power lines –"_

"Creature?" Lois said, straightening up slowly. She noticed Jimmy's stricken face, paper white, and knew he was reflecting back to his wedding night.

"Jimmy?" she said cautiously.

"It's back," he said hoarsely. "God, Lois it must have come back."

"Jimmy," she said in an uncharacteristically gentle voice, "we don't know anything yet. The police think it might be some sort of explosion."

"Do you?" he asked.

"I don't know. Besides, knowing some of the crazies in this city, the so-called creature could be a sewer rat or a stray dog."

"Destroying buildings? Even Metropolis doesn't have rats that big."

She paused. "I'm going down there. You don't have to come, but –"

Jimmy shook his head, his pale face determined. "No, I'll go."

"Okay," she agreed. "Go get your camera then and then we'll go."

Jimmy nodded. "I'll grab some my digital too, just in case."

"Jimmy," she called before he left. "Have you, uh, have you seen Clark?"

"CK? No, why?"

"I haven't seen him all day, and…" she trailed off.

Jimmy smiled knowingly. "I'm sure he's fine."

Lois scowled at his retreating back.

* * *

Clark Kent threw open the doors of his workplace, tension and stress rolling off him in waves. He didn't have much time. He didn't have _any_ time, really, but he had managed to make this little detour on his way to meet up with the Justice League. He _should_ have been with them already, but he couldn't stop himself from coming here to resolve a growing worry that he had.

Davis. Clark shook his head. If only they had noticed the signs. Though they may not have been able to guess what he was, they would have at least been able to tell that something was wrong with him. _Jimmy_ had seen that something was wrong…

He shook himself mentally. For once, he didn't have time to dwell on the what ifs. He had come here for a reason. Searching through the unusual crowd, he spotted his and Lois' desks. Hers was empty. He had a slight moment of panic before he saw Jimmy stop by her desk to gather his camera.

"Jimmy," he said quickly, tapping his friend on the back. "Have you seen Lois?"

Jimmy looked up in surprise. "CK! Yeah, she's around here somewhere. We're heading out to check out what's going on downtown. You should come along."

"Jimmy, don't go there," Clark advised. "Trust me, it's not somewhere you want to be."

Jimmy froze, reading Clark's expression. "Clark, it's not… Is it -? Lois and I heard on the radio that – well, they're talking about some sort of creature. You don't think it's the same –?"

When Clark didn't answer, Jimmy's eyes widened.

"Where's Chloe?" he demanded.

"I haven't seen her yet," Clark answered. "She might be back at her apartment. All I know is she's not down there."

"I have to find her," Jimmy said stiffly. He dropped his camera into the desk and grabbed his coat. "Tell Lois where I've gone."

"Jimmy I think you should just stay –"

"Look, Clark I can't just stay here and hope she _might_ be safe. I have to make sure," Jimmy told him. In that moment Clark saw life from Jimmy's point of view: to him it didn't matter what deplorable state his and Chloe's marriage had sunk to; he still loved Chloe, and he wanted to keep her safe. Besides, Clark couldn't argue with his reasoning; a similar line of thinking is what had brought him here to the Planet today.

Clark nodded, and Jimmy left. Clark turned around with a heavy sigh, and relaxed just a fraction when he saw a familiar brunette, his reason for coming here.

* * *

"Lois."

She jumped and turned, surprised to find Clark standing just a foot behind her. When had _he_ gotten here?

"Clark," she said in relief. "Good, you're here. Get your stuff together, Smallville. We need to get downtown right now. There's –"

"Lois." She felt his hand grip her elbow. "You can't go downtown."

As it always did when someone threw the word 'can't' at her, her body tensed and irritation leaked through her thoughts. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you this, Clark, but I'm a big girl. Not only am I big girl, but I'm a reporter. And right now, there's something huge going on downtown, so I –"

Clark shook his head. "Lois…"

She crossed her arms, waiting for his explanation. Clark sighed, glancing at the clock across the room. He looked back at her, a muscle in his jaw jumped. For a moment she thought he was angry, but when she met his eyes, she saw the worry and, if she wasn't mistaken, the fear in them. She stopped short in the midst of beginning another tirade and stared at him, wondering what was happening to make him this way.

"Clark," she said slowly. "What's going on?"

He opened his mouth to speak before pausing. His hand slid down from her arm to her hand, leaving goosebumps in its wake. "Lois, come with me."

Casting a furtive glance around, he quickly pulled her out of the bullpen towards the elevator. He didn't speak a word the whole ride up but the tension was palpable, and every few seconds she would catch him staring at her out of the corner of her eye.

Lois tried not to squirm, refraining several times from demanding to know what was going on and what he thought he was doing. There was something about the way he was acting that made her think twice. So instead she took her usual stance on all things Clark Kent: if he wanted to tell her something, he would. If not, let it go and move on.

But when he led her from the elevator and onto the Daily Planet roof, latching the door behind them, she didn't bother to quell the rest of her questions.

"Not that I mind the scenic view," she said, raising an eyebrow, "but what are we doing up here? Whatever is going on is happening downtown as we speak. Look."

She crossed to the edge of roof, directing her gaze to the section of the city where faint tunnels of smoke were rising. Quiet screams could be heard in the distance. Lois bit down on her lip. "What the hell is going on down there? We need to go. I'll go grab Jimmy and –"

"Jimmy went to go find Chloe. Lois," he turned her around to face him, his expression urgent as his hands snaked around her upper arms. "You need to listen to me. I need you to promise me something."

A loud, explosive crack cut through the air, muffled by its distance. Clark glanced out over the building ledge at the section downtown being destroyed. He flinched and turned back to her.

"I need you to promise me that you'll stay here," he said earnestly. "I need you to promise that you won't leave here until I come back for you."

Her lips parted. "Smallville, what –?"

"This is the safest place for you right now. _Promise_ me you won't leave unless you absolutely have to. Don't go downtown for any reason."

She shook her head, feeling slightly numbed. "I can't promise that! What if –?"

"Lois, please." One hand reached up to cup her the side of her face. "For me? Please. Just don't leave."

Sucking in a breath, she said quietly, "_You're _leaving though, aren't you?"

She expected him to look surprised at her deduction, but he didn't. His head dropped a bit and he answered, "I'm sorry. I have to go."

She didn't ask why. She didn't demand an answer. And for that, Clark was grateful. That had always been one of the things that had set Lois apart from all of the other women in his life; she never pushed him to know his secrets or his reasons. She just accepted them as they came, understanding that his secrets were just that: _his._

It was a little ironic to Clark then, that the person who never demanded his secret was the one person he desperately wanted to tell. He wished she could know why he was leaving her here by herself, why he was running off on her again. He quickly reflected back on what he had once said to Kara; sometimes it seemed that Lois would be safer if she knew his secret. But he didn't have any time. Not now.

_If I come back,_ he thought to himself, _I should tell her._

If. And that was a big if. Panic rose like bile in his throat. This wasn't going to be easy. Or rather, this was going to be impossible. He had seen what the monster – it was still too odd to think of it as Davis – could do briefly at the wedding. He was hardly a match for it. Even with Oliver and the others by his side, there was only so much that could be done. Super-powered or not, they were only human.

Just like Lois.

Which is why he needed her to promise to stay. He needed her to say that she wouldn't go near downtown. He needed to know that no matter what happened Lois would be okay.

His gaze rose back up to meet hers. Her face was set in a determined expression – _Army brat, _he thought with a wry smile – but her hazel eyes were pained. His breath caught. Suddenly it almost killed him to know that he might never see them again. See _her_ again. Despite the ticking clock, he took the time to marvel at how beautiful she could look even when the city was falling apart. Regret at moments long gone and opportunities ignored washed through him. He hated himself for his fear of acknowledging his feelings and his major oversights over the years when it came to Lois Lane. It hurt to know that if today really was his last, regret over so many things would inevitably follow him to the grave.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. He dropped his arms to his sides and turned to go. "Goodbye, Lois."

"Goodbye?" he heard her say. "Goodbye is permanent, Smallville. You're not supposed to say that."

He turned back. "Who taught you that?"

"My mom used to say it," she answered simply. "You are coming back, aren't you?"

Clark swallowed. He didn't answer. That way, he didn't have to lie. He gave her a weak smile. "See you later, Lois."

He turned away again, but not before he heard a soft, "See you around…Smallville."

It occurred to him in that very minute that he shouldn't have to regret _everything_. There was one thing, at least, he wanted to do to take away a touch of the regret he felt for hiding his feelings for her. Besides, he thought, if this was his day to die, then he deserved a little bit of happiness before he went.

"Lois?" he whispered hoarsely. She too had turned away, looking out over the slowly darkening city.

Before she had the chance to fully turn around he was in front of her, holding her face in his hands. He saw the quick look of surprise before he caught her lips with his in a fierce and urgent kiss. His mind took on such a haze that he hardly noticed when her hands gripped the collar of his jacket to pull him closer before abandoning it in favor of wrapping her arms around his neck. Slipping a hand into her dark hair, he slowed the kiss down as though he had all the time in the world, letting it sink into something much more gentle and slow. Which was quite an accomplishment for him, considering all he wanted to do was crush her against him and never let go. He should have done this a long time ago.

The seconds seemed to melt into hours with her, at the same time strangely feeling all too brief. When he _did_ release her, he kept his eyes closed, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. "Bye, Lois."

He opened his eyes to see her watching him with an odd expression on her face. He pulled away from her and with great difficulty, he walked away and sped outside, away from the Daily Planet, and even harder, away from Lois.

* * *

Lois stared at the door he had exited through in a daze, her lips still tingling slightly.

_Bye, Lois._

He hadn't said he wasn't coming back. But there was something about that finality in his voice that scared her. It didn't matter that he hadn't said where he was going or what he was doing; whatever it was, Clark seemed to think it was serious enough that he wouldn't see her again.

Involuntarily, her gaze drifted towards the smoky mess that was downtown Metropolis.

_No way, _she thought. _Smallville might not exactly be a genius, but he isn't dumb enough to go down there. _

_Dumb enough, no,_ her mind seemed to answer. _But it's _Clark. _When is he _not_ in the middle of things like this?_

That was true. But why in hell would he go there? No one even knew what was going on; reports were sketchy at best. He was going to get himself killed.

_Bye, Lois._

He obviously knew that getting killed was likely. So why would he –?

Something clicked in her head, and she stopped short, her eyes wide.

"Oh my –" Her eyes widened even further as a loud roar echoed through the eerily quiet streets. " – God."

Abandoning her post on the roof, she ran for the door. Screw promises, she had to find Clark.

* * *

**So, should I continue? :) I hope this was good (I'm a little doped up on allergy medicine right now, so my judgement is a little off, haha). Reviews would be greatly appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** I'm tired, sick, and very cranky, but I managed to finish this before I have to go out tonight! The next update will follow soon, and please make sure you read my **A/N** at the end.

On a side note, since this story has some heavily emotional moments, I've turned to music to help get me in the right mindset and help get ideas flowing. I myself always find it interesting to hear about what music inspires people, and it's a great way to find new groups or singers you may not have heard of before. So when I use a song to help me write a chapter, I'll post the name and artist at the end. They deserve the credit for helping me with my muse :)

Chapter 1 song: **_Almost Lover_ by A Fine Frenzy**

* * *

Over forty flights of stairs. That was a rough number in her head, but forty was the last she had bothered to count as she had sprinted down them and cursed every step. The elevator was down, and for once, Lois didn't complain; she wasn't sure if she could stand in the small metal box for that long without screaming.

Clark. The Red Blue Blur. One and the same?

In some ways it made sense; it explained a lot of unanswered questions she had about her best friend. The sudden disappearances, the lame excuses, the odd furtive looks that she had nicknamed the Kent nonverbals. In other ways it didn't make any sense at all. She had painted a picture of the Red Blue Blur in her head: he was fearless, brave, strong. He was a hero. And that hero was…Clark? The farmboy from Smallville whom, until a little while ago, she had never expected to come out of the brooding spot he called a barn and grow up?

_Give the guy some credit, Lane,_ she thought. _He _did_ grow up. Around the same time that you started noticing how gorgeous he was._

But growing up was one thing; being Metropolis' savior was another. Lois shook her head, pieces coming together slowly in her head. How many times had she or Chloe or anyone else Clark knew been saved under mysterious and seemingly impossible circumstances? How many times had she escaped situations where she had been sure that she was about to die? Lois could count quite a few times where she had been talking to Clark right before – or even during – an attack or accident of some sort, only to be saved minutes later. And how many times had both Martha and Jonathan Kent, or even Chloe, hinted that there was something very special about Clark? She had always chalked it up to Chloe's old crush and doting parents. But what if they had meant it in a whole other way? Meant it as something more than just the sort of special Lois already saw Clark as.

"How did I not see it?" she puffed as she ran past startled coworkers on her way out the doors. "How did I miss _this_?"

Sweat was already saturating the back of her neck where her hair was swaying wildly as she ran. It wasn't that much further, she reminded herself. And damn it, she was going to run the whole way if she had to, straight downtown. If Clark was in fact the Red Blue Blur, that's where he would be. She was sure of it.

She wasn't even mad. It was Clark's secret to tell, and sure, she got that. But she was a little saddened by the fact that he hadn't told her. Chloe obviously knew, and she was willing to bet money that Lana did too. She wondered if there was a reason why he had never said anything. Was he afraid that she would look at him differently, or was it a trust issue?

_Deal with it later. Right now, find Clark._

Lois skidded across a street, throwing herself out of the way just before she was run down by a silver Porsche. The driver screamed something at her, but she ignored him and kept on running, grateful for the daily jogs she ran finally coming in handy.

She rounded another block and stopped short.

Downtown Metropolis was by no means the best of the city. But this was… Lois couldn't think of any words to describe it. Thick black smoke blanketed the entire area like suffocating smog. Cars were upended, a few of them in flames. Car alarms and sirens screamed out into the twilight. Store fronts were smashed in, flames licking out of windows as they destroyed everything inside. Lois noticed a fire truck on its side nearby, an arm hanging grotesquely out of the crumpled up front end.

"Oh my God," she murmured, pressing a hand over her mouth. _Don't be here Clark, don't be here._

She kept going, choking on the rancid smoke as she stumbled over chunks of fallen bricks and concrete.

_Don't be here, Clark. I swear to God, Smallville, if I find you lying in a ditch or something..._

She narrowly avoided falling into a large crater marring the middle of the street. Her eyes were burning from the smoke, and her lungs seared with every painful stride she took.

Then she heard it. A booming roar that echoed through the streets. Lois paled; she knew what was going on. The police had it wrong: this was no explosion or attack.

Chloe's wedding bubbled to the forefront of her mind. It didn't matter that she hadn't seen the monster that her friends had. She had _heard_ it from her place of safety on the Kent porch.

Jimmy was right: it was back.

* * *

"Impulse? Impulse! Damn it!" Green Arrow tossed the earpiece on the ground. He turned to the side. "Communication is down. There's no way you can hack into the lines and give us a visual? A traffic camera, anything."

Cyborg shook his head and let his eyes rove over the demolished landscape. "I don't know if you've noticed, Green Bean, but there isn't much left to hack into."

Oliver clenched his jaw, knowing that Victor was right. He shook his head, frustrated.

"That thing can pack a punch," someone wheezed.

Oliver and Victor turned, catching the sight of a bloody Bart Allen in full gear.

"It hit you?"

"Barely grazed me," Bart answered, clutching his side. "Has anyone got any ideas on how to kill this thing? Or at least destroy it? Because we're running out of plans here."

"We've tried next to everything," Oliver replied. "I've got Dinah and AC on the way, but I don't know how much help they're going to be at this point. It's like the damn thing is –"

"Invulnerable."The three men turned to see the new arrival.

"Clark," Bart said with slight relief. "What took you so long?"

"I had to take care of something important," was the quiet and short reply.

"Back up for a minute," Oliver interrupted, holding up a hand. "Invulnerable? Really?"

Clark nodded. "It's built a lot like me in that sense."

Bart threw his hands up. "Well there you go! We'll just give it a healthy dose of Smallville's friendly meteor rock and we're done."

Oliver glanced at Clark. "Will that work?"

Clark was already shaking his head. "We tried that already, remember? He only came back, stronger than ever."

"Wait a minute," Victor said, raising an eyebrow. "You guys killed this before?"

"Apparently they didn't do a very good job," Bart said in surprise.

Clark raised his head. "It's a long story. Bottom line is, stabbing him won't work, shooting him won't work –"

"Blowing him up and dousing him in meteor rock won't work –" Oliver added.

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Bart asked. "Are you saying we just have to let it destroy the city?"

"No," Clark said quickly, "of course not."

Oliver nodded slowly in agreement, suddenly understanding. "There _is_ something that may be able to stop it, isn't there?"

Three pairs of eyes flickered towards the tall Kryptonian, who nodded, his expression set.

* * *

Lois' feet slammed into the concrete as she sprinted towards the site of the terrible noise and destruction. Panic and adrenaline were sending her heart into overdrive as she fought her way against groups of people attempting to run away from the creature currently wreaking havoc on Metropolis.

Apparently, she was the only one stupid enough to be running _towards_ it.

Dust filled the area, making it impossible to see anything over ten feet away. Horrible cries and grating shrieks continued to pierce the atmosphere, but Lois kept running. He was in there. She had to get to him. She had to…

"Lois!" a voice yelled. An arm flung out and grabbed her around the waist.

She struggled immediately before she raised her gaze to see her captor. Green Arrow – Oliver. The sunglasses were missing from his customary outfit, and the entire right side of his face looked like it was purpling into one massive bruise.

"Ollie," she said, her voice low and rough, "where is he?"

Oliver's eyes – or his good one, anyway – were wide, and, just for a second, they flickered towards the commotion hidden by the wall of dust and debris. Lois tried to pull away.

"Lois, stop!" Oliver tried to subdue her.

"_No!_ He's going to get himself killed! Clark needs us! It's that thing, Oliver! The thing that kidnapped Chloe and almost killed Jimmy!" She struggled with renewed strength. "I need to get to Clark! What the hell is he doing in there, anyway? What is he _thinking_?"

"He's not going to want you to get yourself killed, Lois!" Oliver yelled. He too looked pained at his currently helpless state. "We can't do anything for him. We _tried._ You need to stay away. We can –"

A deafening roar came rang out, and Oliver looked towards the sound. Lois took advantage of his momentary distraction to break free from his grasp and run towards the noise.

"Lois, no!" she heard Oliver scream, but she kept going.

Once Oliver faded from view, she paused to look around. A few remaining people buffeted past her in their desperation. A couple of them were sporting grisly injuries. Lois nearly gagged. Her eyes searched the cloudy area desperately. He was here, but God, where _was_ he?

Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw a massive hulking shape rise up and snarl. It made a sweeping gesture, and she saw something fly through the air like a ragdoll, smashing into the nearest skyscraper and falling to the ground. The foggy atmosphere dissipated a bit, just enough for Lois to see what had been tossed so carelessly aside by the monster.

Clark.

"Clark!" she screamed. Her legs went into overdrive, carrying her to him as fast as her body would allow.

He was on his feet again, unsteady. His head turned towards her, and she saw his surprise. It quickly melted into panic, and he shouted hoarsely, "Lois, stay where you are!"

She froze, a mere ten feet away from him. "Cl –"

He disappeared. Had he just…blurred? Her eyes searched wildly for him as she bit down on the inside of her cheek, worried.

There was a loud sound, like two boulders smashing together. Something cracked loudly, and there was a screeching snarl. Clark shouted from somewhere nearby. Lois bit down on her cheek so hard she could taste blood. There were more smashing and snapping noises, punctuated by snarls and grunts. At one point she heard Clark scream out, and a scream of her own slipped out before she could stifle it. She didn't know which was worse, the thought of seeing what was going on, or the fact that she couldn't. A second later there was a loud shattering sound, another mix of a deep roar and a shout, and then there was silence.

Lois stood completely still, her heart pounding in her chest. She tried to open her mouth to call out, but found that for once in her life, her mouth wouldn't co-operate.

A figure moved towards her out of smoke. Lois tensed, her hand grasping on the cracked asphalt for something to use as a weapon. Her hands closed around a pipe, and she stood up slowly.

The pipe slipped from her grasp and hit the street with a dull clang when he came into view. Clark.

Clark stumbled towards her. "Lo-is," he choked out. Then he plunged towards the ground.

"_Clark!"_

Her knees struck the pavement beside him, ripping a hole through her pants and cutting at her skin. She knelt down over him, panic tightened in her throat, making it hard to swallow.

Clark's eyes were closed, blood streaming from both the corner of his mouth and his nose. Bruises and cuts dotted his features. His favorite red jacket, the one that he seemed to think went with anything and everything no matter how much she argued otherwise, was shredded to tatters and saturated in blood. _His_ blood. The blue t-shirt underneath was in the same deplorable state. Blood was spilling out from somewhere on his abdomen, but there was so much that she couldn't even pinpoint where.

Gently, she cradled his head in her lap, her fingers hesitating near his face, afraid to inadvertently cause him more pain. Tears were flooding into her eyes, threatening to spill over. "Clark?"

When he didn't answer, she tried again, her voice tight. "Clark, wake up. It's me, Lois. Come on Clark, open your eyes."

There was a slight shift of his head, and a rattling breath. With what seemed to be an immense effort, Clark's eyes opened a tiny bit.

"Lois?" he mumbled, sounding confused.

"Yeah, Smallville," she laughed through her tears. "I'm here."

"Lois, you – you have to get out of here," he murmured, his eyes struggling to stay focused on her face. "You need to get some – somewhere safe."

"I'm not going anywhere," she assured him. "I'm going to get you some help, so stay with me, okay?"

She fished her cell phone out of her pocket, relieved that she hadn't lost it on the way. Fingers shaking, she tried to dial 911. The words 'service disrupted' flashed across her screen. She had forgotten that phones were down.

"Damn it!" she cried, throwing her cell phone down beside her. All emergency lines were bound to be jammed with all the calls they were receiving. Everyone was going to have to wait their turn. But Clark couldn't wait. He needed help _now_.

"Lois?"

She looked down at him. His eyes were a bit wider now, looking directly at her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she marveled at the fact that his blue eyes could still steal her breath away, no matter the situation.

"Yeah?" she managed.

"No one's going to come." It was a statement, not a question. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Why, Clark? Why did you have to come here and try to fight it? _Why?_" she demanded softly.

He flinched at another bout of pain. "I'm… I'm the only one who c – can. Had to – to protect people. Protect _you._"

She nodded, her eyes still closed. "You're the blur, aren't you?"

"You know?"

"I put two and two together on the way down here. You're a terrible liar anyways, remember? Besides, you coming here to fight off some monster on steroids was kind of a hint." Her attempts to lighten the mood with humor were pathetic and she knew it.

Clark nodded. "Sorry."

She knew he meant for not telling her, but she shrugged it off. "It's okay. You can tell me all about it later, okay?"

"I don't… know if… I'll be able to…" He was fading out again, his eyes starting to roll back into his head. Fear overtook her again – she couldn't let him go unconscious again.

"Clark, stay with me!" she shouted, the words grating her throat as they passed. "Stay with me, Smallville, please! Don't go! Please…"

He managed to open his eyes again. Tears were reflected in his own eyes as much as hers. He raised a hand up to rest on her face. "Lois…"

She grabbed that hand with one of her own, keeping it in place. "_Don't_," she moaned. She could see it in his eyes; he was saying goodbye.

"Lois," he continued, his voice still weak, but marginally stronger than before. "You need to get out of here. I can't – if something happens to you –" he flinched. "I'm – I'm so sorry. I was going to tell you…everything. I was just waiting until…until I told you other things first. I wanted to tell you that – that I love you. I have for a long time. I was just too stupid to see it until recently." He managed a ghost of a smile.

A small sob escaped her. "I love you too, Clark. You're the best friend I've ever had. You're my Smallville."

He looked at her seriously. "Promise me… promise me you'll be happy."

She shook her head, the tears hot on her cheeks. "No. No promising. You'll be there to see it yourself. You and me, Clark. S-someday soon we're going to get moved up from the basement of the Planet and make it big for ourselves. We can even share a by-line or two. I'll stop by the farm f-for Guitar Hero weekends and movie nights." She let out a shaky laugh. "You're going to be okay. I'm going to get you out of here."

Her voice broke at the end. He lifted his head and brushed his lips against hers, a whisper of a kiss. He paused at her ear. "Goodbye, Lois. I love you." His head went back to her lap, his eyes sliding closed…

Her eyes widened. "Clark? _Clark?_ No! Don't leave me! Please! Oh God… _Oh God… Clark, no!_ Stay with me Clark!"

But he was gone. She knew without even needing to check. Clark would never ignore her cries, no matter what his current state was. That was one of the many great things about Clark: he was so…damn…_dependable…_

An unearthly howl of pain cut through the air, and it took a moment to register that the sound was coming from _her_. Her screams echoed among the now empty buildings, making it sound like there were a hundred other Loises mourning right along with her… She leaned her forehead against his, sobbing words incomprehensibly.

How long she sat that way, she didn't know. Logically, she knew it had to have been only a matter of minutes. But to her, it felt like a lifetime of pain and suffering, stretching on cruelly for god knows how long.

"Lois?"

The voice was quiet from behind her, shocked and concerned.

She ignored it, still clutching Clark's jacket. She became aware that she was saying something, mumbling words between sobs. What was she saying…?

"He's… Oh my God, he's dead." This voice was new, and just as stunned as the first. There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke again.

"Ollie…we should – We need to –" This voice was familiar.

"I know." A hand was placed on her shoulder. "Lois? You need to let go. We need to get you out of here."

She shook her head. Leave Clark? Was he insane? That thing could still be around. She wasn't going to let it hurt him anymore than it already had. She had to protect him…

"Lois please…"

She shook her head more vigorously. What didn't he understand? _She was not going to leave Clark._

"Lois," there was a pause; "we need to get Clark out of here. We need to protect him and his identity. We have to get him somewhere safe. He doesn't deserve to lie in the street."

No, he didn't. Clark deserved much better than that, she knew. She reached out with her hand, brushing her fingers against his face. Slowly, she relinquished her grip on Clark's jacket. Just as gently as she had before, she moved his head from her lap, moving her legs away. Strong arms came around her waist, pulling her to her feet. She knew it was Oliver, keeping her steady. She caught a glimpse of three other men and a woman in costume, standing off to the side and all wearing identical looks of shock and pain. She recognized two faces with a dull shock: AC, and the Black Canary. Friends of Oliver with similar interests, no doubt. Any other day she would pounce on the chance to find out more.

Her eyes fell immediately to Clark again, broken and bloody in the street. She moaned again, and before she could stop it, she was screaming and crying again, rationality and control falling away completely. This had to be fake. A nightmare. A sick joke. Clark Kent was _not_ dead. He couldn't be.

Oliver said something to the others and started wrestling her away from the scene towards an alley. She saw the others slowly advance on Clark's body before she disappeared around the corner.

"Lois. Lois! Stop hitting me and just –"

She collapsed against his chest suddenly, drained off all energy. She was a complete mess of snot and tears, but she didn't care. When the hell had everything gone so utterly and terribly _wrong_? When had…when…?

_You're losing it, Lane,_ a small voice informed her sadly. _You aren't even thinking straight._

_I don't care!_ she shrieked internally. _I just don't care!_

"I'm sorry Lois," Oliver choked out. "I'm so sorry."

"He…he…_Clark._" His name was a lamenting moan.

"I know." There was a silence where Oliver simply let her cry. "Lois I'm going to take you back to your apartment for now, okay?" Before she could protest he added, "We'll take care of…Clark. I'll come back for you later."

When she didn't respond, Oliver sighed. "Let's get you home, Lois."

_Home? _Her mouth twisted. She didn't bother to point out that home had long since been a small yellow farmhouse in Smallville, Kansas. It was the only place she had ever felt welcome. Safe. But with the best thing about it now gone, she wasn't sure if she would ever want to go back. All in one day, she had lost her best friend, the man that she loved, and the one place she had ever called home.

* * *

"_You're going to be okay. I'm – I'm going to get you out of here."_

_She sounded terrified. He felt guilty for being the one responsible for that. He had never wanted to hurt her. He wished he could comfort her, wrap her in his arms and stop her from hurting. But he couldn't. He was dying. After everything he had been through, he was going to die today, bleeding in the streets in Lois Lane's arms. He didn't want to die, but he supposed that all things considered, dying in the arms of someone he loved more than anything didn't seem like such a bad way to go._

"_Goodbye, Lois. I love you." What else could he say? He really did love her. He hated that he hadn't told her sooner, instead hanging onto the inane idea of her ignorance being her protection. If he had told her, maybe they could have had more time. She had said it herself: she loved him too._

_But it was too late. He could feel the cold blackness creeping up on him, and Lois started to fade from view. Dying wasn't so bad, it turned out. It didn't even hurt anymore. The pain faded as control over his body did. He fought against it desperately, equally as hard as he had fought against the monster, wanting to hold her face in his mind a few more minutes. It was useless. He felt control leave his muscles, loosening them. He noticed his eyes slipping shut, and Lois' cries faded into silence._

_And then Clark Kent died._

* * *

**WAIT, WAIT! Put down your pitchforks or weapons of choice, lol. There is more of this story to come, so I guess you'll just have to trust me for now :) This chapter was particularly hard to write for me, so feedback would be much appreciated!**

**And I don't know if it's just me, but I totally think that Durance and Welling could rock a scene like this if they ever did it on Smallville.**

**Songs used for this chapter: **

**_Last Way Out of Here_ - Paloalto**

**_High and Low_ - Greg Laswell**

Hope you enjoyed!!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Hello all. I'd like to apologize for the delayed update. Although I don't put much stock in excuses, I do feel like I should give an explanation: it seems I picked a crappy time to start a fic -- my health has gone from bad to worse since I started this, and I've been taking midterms on top of everything else I've had to do. But the good news is I'm here with an update! This chapter is more character driven, but I've finally figured out how I want to end this, and the next chapter is going to jump into the plot even more. :)

Also, I want to thank everyone for the wonderful feedback. It means a lot to me, and I am _very_ grateful :)

There is **a** **review I wanted to respond to**, but as it was anonymous and I have no other way of doing so, I may as well respond here. This person raised the issue that they had a problem with Clark referring to himself as 'stupid' in his goodbye speech to Lois. I'd like to clarify: I meant in no way to imply that Clark actually is, or thought himself as, stupid. When I wrote that, I was having him say it more as a joking reference to how bluntly _Lois _may describe his actions as. And that _isn't_ of course me saying that Lois thinks Clark is stupid either. It was more Clark trying to ease tension. On that same note, this person also voiced their opinion that Clark would never reveal so much like he did when he was saying goodbye to Lois. Honestly? I believe the same. At least with where they are now. But I can always hope, and as much as I believe strongly in keeping things in character and doing justice to Smallville and its characters, this _is _a fanfic, and I was using my creative license there to verbalize the things that we have not yet seen Clark really acknowledge in-depth. I thank you for your lengthy review though, and for the song suggestions that I will definitely look into. :)

* * *

Lois watched as Oliver broke into her balcony doors, pushing them ajar with his free hand. The other was wrapped firmly around her arm, as though he expected her to suddenly make a bid for freedom and run down the street into the night. Part of her entertained that idea for a minute, and then promptly shot it down; where would she go?

"Hope you don't mind the unusual entrance," Oliver said quietly. "I'd walk you to your front door, but…"

He trailed of gesturing at his battered Green Arrow outfit. Lois shrugged. She had left her apartment key in her purse, which now sat abandoned at the Planet, anyway. She hadn't thought to grab it on the way out. This was really the only way they were getting in unless one of them was up to kicking the door down. She stepped inside, but made no move to touch anything. Oliver noticed this and moved past her, flicking on some of the lights around the apartment.

He turned to face her. "Lois…"

The look she gave him quelled any speech he was about to make, and he fell silent.

After a few minutes, she managed to find her voice enough to say, "You can go. I know you guys have things you have to do."

Her voice cracked, and she tried not to wince at how weak it sounded. Oliver shook his head.

"Lois, I'm –"

"Don't," she said, cutting him off. "Don't say you're sorry. Please."

"He was my friend too."

She didn't answer, fixing her gaze on the floor. Yes, she supposed they had probably been better friends than she had first thought; they both shared the burden that came with the double life of a hero. A life she hadn't even been aware existed with Clark.

"…take care of everything, Lois," Oliver was saying. "You don't have to worry about it. Just try to get some rest, and I'll pick you up in a few hours."

"Take care of everything?" she repeated flatly.

Oliver nodded. "I'll make the calls and all that…"

Lois' eyes widened as she imagined sweet Martha Kent all alone in Washington receiving the news that her only son, the one she adored above everything else and the only family she had left, was dead. She suddenly couldn't breath.

"Lois!" Oliver rushed to her side when she sank down on the couch and held her head between her knees, gasping for air. She batted him away.

"I'm fine," she gasped. "I'm fine."

"You aren't fine, Lois. Just –"

"Don't call her Ollie," Lois talked over him, raising her head slowly. "I…I'll do it. It's better that way."

Oliver nodded slowly. "If you're sure. On one condition, though; don't call her tonight."

"What? Why?" It wasn't that she looked forward to the call, but she couldn't imagine _not_ letting Martha know right away. Clark was…had been…her son.

Oliver shifted, uncomfortable. "We have to get a story straight first."

Lois rose to her feet. "We are _not_ lying to her."

He rose too. "No, of course we're not lying to her. I just meant she's going to have to tell people something about what happened. And we're going to have to have a story about why he's gone too. None of us can exactly come out and say that he was battling some monster with his superpowers."

Lois' eyes sparked. "Then make up a damn story! Say he was killed during the rampage or whatever the hell you have to say, but I'm calling her! She needs to know!"

"Lois." Oliver's voice was worn thin. "Please just trust me. Just wait until tomorrow, okay?"

He took her silence as a confirmation and turned back to the balcony to leave.

"He died a hero." Her voice was quiet and she stared at the floor, even though she knew that it was useless; he could see her tears anyway.

Oliver turned back. "He did."

"And we're just going to make up a story about how he died. No one will ever know what he did for them. No one will ever know what he sacrificed," she continued, allowing the words to spell out exactly how wrong it all seemed.

"Clark never really wanted the glory," Oliver said softly. "He was never looking for any credit."

"I know," she whispered, staring down at her crossed arms. "He was never that kind of person. He just genuinely…"

"Cared about people," he finished. "I know, Lois."

When she didn't speak again, her throat too tight and sore, he crossed the room, pulling her into a brief hug.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"Yeah," she managed to croak out, her voice tinged with bitterness. "So am I."

Oliver pulled back. He opened his mouth again to speak, but seemed to think better of it. He crossed the room and within seconds, he was gone.

Lois stood in silence for a minute before she closed her eyes and sank to the couch, collapsing on her side. She stayed that way for the next hour before she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

Lois ran the brush through her hair, deftly avoiding the eyes in the mirror. She had no desire to see the stranger looking back at her, having had a terrible confrontation with the face in the mirror the night before.

At some point in the early morning she had woken up to a stiff neck and throbbing muscles. Mechanically, she had slipped off her couch and walked to the bathroom in a sleepy daze. When she had flipped on the light from her position in front of the mirror, she had been treated to the sight of a pale version of herself; wild haired, wide eyed, and covered head to toe in Clark's blood.

That was the first time she'd been sick.

Somehow, she had managed to struggle out of the clothes and get herself into the shower, letting the scalding water burn everything away. She had hunted down some clean clothes from her drawers, slipping them on in the dark. Until she had realized the shirt she had pulled on was a familiar oversized red and gold flannel. She'd torn it off so quick it might as well have been in flames. That was the second time she had been sick.

Once she had rid herself of all the blood, she'd given herself a quick once-over. It turned out that none of the blood was hers except the patches smeared on her feet. Evidently, she had worn her high heels the day before. She hadn't even noticed any pain, but the shoes must have sliced up her feet on her run downtown. She bandaged herself up haphazardly, barely even wincing at the sting of the rubbing alcohol. It felt good to be focused on something else, no matter how trivial.

She tried going back to sleep a few times, but was interrupted by jumbled nightmares filled with horrible creatures, swirling red blood, and her own screams and tears. When sleep became no longer an option she noticed the clock approaching five thirty a.m. and the sky starting to lighten from its indigo blue in the distance. She was going stir crazy alone in her apartment with the silence. After having stared at her ceiling fan for a good hour or two, she had come to the conclusion that she wanted to leave, and was even more surprised when she discovered where she wanted to go.

Lois put down her brush, and risked a glance at the mirror. Saying that she looked terrible was an understatement, she knew. The dark half-moons under her eyes stood out glaringly, ratting her out about her lack of sleep. Turning away, she grabbed a coat and pair of sneakers – the only thing she suspected she could actually fit her now slightly swollen feet into – and snatched her car keys. Oliver was going to be livid if he discovered she had left, but she failed to care. If she could cross a three star general, what harm was a billionaire ex-boyfriend?

The streets were almost completely empty; a shocking sight in Metropolis even at five in the morning. Normally traffic was so bad that a five minute drive could stretch into thirty. She navigated her way through the streets and out of the city, passing only a few other vehicles on the way. Most of the city was staying in the safety of their own homes for the time being, waiting for the mess left behind from the previous day to be cleared and the streets to be once again declared safe. Or as safe as a city like Metropolis could possibly get.

Bothered by the silence, she flipped on the radio, forgoing her usual classic rock station for news radio.

"_Metropolis emergency response units are continuing to sort through some of the wreckage from yesterday's shocking scene of destruction,_" the woman was saying. _"Although the extent of the damage is still unknown, rough estimates place the cost of the damage in the millions."_ There was a somber pause before the woman continued. _"Rescue teams are still searching for the hundreds that have been reported missing since yesterday's events and Metropolis General has had to transfer many patients over to nearby hospitals in response to the overwhelming number of patients flooding in through its doors. _

"_On a higher note, among those survivors to come through the hospital's doors many report tales of miraculous saves – something already being attributed to Metropolis' mysterious hero, dubbed 'The Red Blue Blur' –"_

Lois' hands slipped slightly on the steering wheel. She swallowed hard.

"Good job, Smallville," she whispered, readjusting her grip. She shook her head as if to clear it and pressed down harder on the gas pedal.

* * *

Oliver Queen stared down hard at his coffee table, a muscle in his jaw working furiously. He hadn't slept all night, trying to work on the clean-up of Metropolis with the rest of the team. It was rare that they were all able to get together on a job. Usually, it was a cause for slight celebration. They would tease, joke, and ultimately, kick ass. So it was strange to be together, barely speaking a word. Even Bart, normally annoying opinionated, had been next to silent.

Oliver exhaled sharply. He wasn't unaccustomed to death. Not in the slightest. But this was different. With slight chagrin, he remembered being jealous of Clark and his abilities in the beginning. He had bitterly thought that it would be nice, to have all those powers and not worry about the physical consequence of playing the hero. But he now realized the truth: the stronger the abilities, the bigger the responsibility and, inevitably, the harder the fall. Clark hadn't been as invulnerable as they had all liked to believe.

Dinah Lance shifted in the corner of the room, breaking Oliver's reverie. She was taking a quick break from her work as her alter ego, crashing on his couch for a while. She wasn't sleeping like he had suggested, instead staring at the floor with a far away expression. He didn't think she had moved since she'd come back. Dinah, he knew, hadn't really known Clark very well, having only met him a handful of times. But their lack of interaction didn't seem to stop her from looking as worn out and solemn as the rest of them. Oliver supposed it was due to what he had long since recognized as the 'Clark effect'; Clark was – _had been_, Oliver mentally corrected – the kind of guy people couldn't help but like. Friendly, sincere, and polite, he had always seemed to be able to charm people easily, so that even by the end of the first meeting, you couldn't help but feel like Clark Kent was your friend.

He opened his mouth to ask Dinah a question when the door flew open, revealing Bart, Victor, and AC. All three were covered head to toe in dirt and grime, each wearing identical looks of exhaustion.

"Did you find it?" Oliver asked, his hands gripping the table in front of him as he cut right to the chase.

Bart shook his head, and Victor supplied, "We still can't find the body. It's possible that it got buried somewhere when some of the buildings collapsed after the battle. We'll keep searching."

"But it's also possible that it's still alive," AC pointed out quietly.

There was a silence. It went as an unspoken agreement; no one liked the thought of Clark's death having been for nothing.

Oliver walked across the room and reached into a small mini fridge, normally reserved for just water, pulling out a few bottles of beer. He tossed them to each of his friends, who caught them with surprise. They stared at him with curious looks.

"I thought I'd address the red and blue elephant in the room," Oliver shrugged, clearing his throat. He held up his bottle. "To Clark."

The others nodded and murmured their assent, raising a toast to their friend.

"To Clark."

* * *

Lois steered her car off the highway onto the bumpy dirt road, slowing as she neared the yellow farmhouse – the one that just yesterday she'd sworn she wouldn't return to. Cursing her paper-thin resolve and unsnapping her seat belt, she slid out of the car and took a few steps forward, glancing around the empty farm. The sun was peeking up over the horizon, casting a pale glow over the whole area. It looked beautiful – and very out of place. She had almost expected the place to be dismal and gray, a more appropriate setting for today. But with the cheery sunrise, it looked like the beginning of any other day she had spent here. She half expected Clark to round the corner at any minute with Shelby in tow, causing her to sneeze and Clark to laugh.

As if on cue, Shelby came bounding around the corner, barking excitedly. He bounded towards her, burying his nose against her leg and whining slightly. Lois scratched behind his ears – his favorite spot – absently.

"Hey Shelby," she whispered, staring down at the friendly retriever. She was tempted to add 'where's the farmboy today?' like she always did. Instead she glanced at the barn, her teeth pulling gently at her bottom lip. She sighed. "What am I doing here Shelby? I'm not really a masochist."

Shelby whimpered again.

Lois nodded. "That pretty much sums things up." Lois sighed again, her eyes drawn back to place she had nicknamed so many things; Clark's brooding place, his grown man's clubhouse... "Well if I'm going to destroy what's left of my emotional stability, I might as well do a thorough job."

Removing her hand from the faithful dog she made her way over to the barn, slipping inside. A few tools lay on a nearby bench, as though Clark had been trying to fix something before he had left the farm.

_Probably the damn tractor,_ Lois thought with a wry smile. She didn't think Clark had stopped fixing that thing since she'd met him almost five years ago.

_Five years,_ Lois thought with surprise. _Wow._

Lois thought of that night all those years ago, swerving off the road and into that field to find an amnesiac Clark. She had loved teasing Clark about their first meeting.

"Stop pretending I wasn't the most interesting person you'd ever met, Lois," he had told her.

"Well, you were definitely the most naked," she had teased him. His blush made it all worth it. Not that he really had anything to be embarrassed about – she had after all seen, well, everything that night in the field, and there was definitely nothing to be ashamed of – but the pink cheeks and awkward expression was something that she'd come to love inducing.

Lois laughed at the thought. She stopped abruptly.

_What is _wrong _with me? _she wondered. _I'm standing here, not even a day after he's gone, and I'm _laughing_?_

Placing a hand on the railing, she made her way up to the loft, reflecting quietly on all the times she had done so before. Again, she found herself half expecting to see Clark at the window, staring up at the sky as she had often caught him doing. The loft was empty, of course, but there was something about this place that _felt_ like Clark. Crossing the room over to the telescope by the window, she lowered her gaze to it, peeking through to see what he had last been looking at. A fading star stood out among the lightening sky. A familiar memory flooded into her mind.

"_I thought you said that telescopes were for geeks and stalkers."_

She chuckled. They _were_.

"_Yeah well, as was proven over the last few days, I can seriously misjudge people. You know, if you've come to kick me off the farm, I completely understand."_

She would have too; she had never come to expect stability or leniency from the people in her life. It was never something she had had growing up. The events of that particular day in her memory proved that: a disappointing brush with her sister Lucy had only added to the pile of times she'd been left in the dust and let down by someone she cared about. Why not her little sister too?

"_I don't think Lucy's all that bad."_

"_You're amazing, Smallville. You always look for the best in people even when they walk all over you."_

Well that was at least one thing she'd had pegged about him from the beginning.

"_I guess that explains why we're friends."_

"_Oh we're friends now?"_

"_Well, I mean, I won't tell anyone if you don't."_

Lois smiled slightly as the memory faded. "You _were_ my friend Smallville. I mean, I may have wanted to throw you off a building half the time, but you were always my friend. My best friend."

Sinking onto the couch she leaned back, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "I'm not even sure why I'm here. Your brooding nest is just … Well, brooding was always your thing – I've always preferred to take out my depressions on my two friends Ben and Jerry."

Lois was silent for a minute, staring at a patch of sunlight on the floor in front of her. Normally, she wasn't one to discuss her feelings. She wasn't very good at it. All her life, she'd depended on the very simple decision process of fight or flight. With most confrontations – physical, mental – fight was always her first instinct. But with anything involving her emotions, flight had been the only option she saw fit to take.

But Clark was gone. There wasn't anything or anyone _to _run from. Lois had lost her window to tell him…everything. Lois was a strong believer in the truth, yet she had lied to him so much over the past few months, hiding the feelings she had been so desperate to forget and deny in hopes to protect herself from getting her heart crushed again. She had been down that road enough times to know that giving someone that power, the power to break you, usually meant that eventually, they would. And after so many times, the risk stopped being worth it.

_But with Clark,_ Lois bit her lip, _it was _different.

It was true. It wasn't as though he hadn't hurt her, because he had – more than once. In some ways, he had hurt her worse than Ollie had. But there was a part of her that had always thought that maybe, Clark would have been worth the risk. He hadn't been the first or only guy she had ever fallen for, but with Clark it seemed bigger. Better. More real. And in that same venue, more terrifying.

She paused. "I've lost people I've cared about before. But when it's happened before…I've always had something to do, someone to look after. Some reason not to break down. When my mom died, I had to take care of Lucy. I let her sleep in my bed, I beat up anyone who bullied her, and I taught her about make-up and boys. Then there was the general who, although he's still around barking out orders, let me and Lucy practically raise ourselves, so he might as well have been gone. But I don't think that I ever really had him anyway, so I guess that that's not much of a loss... When we all thought Chloe died, I focused on hunting down the person responsible, running halfway across the country for the sole purpose of making things right. When Mr. Kent died, I looked out for you and Mrs. Kent."

She released a slow breath. "And now you're gone too. You're gone and I haven't heard from Chloe or anyone else, and thanks to Oliver I have nothing, absolutely no way to take my mind off anything. There's no bad guy I can hunt down this time. Though _apparently_," she laughed slightly through her threatening tears, "hunting down bad guys was not something that only _I_ did."

Her expression sobered a bit.

"I would have understood, you know. About the Blur thing. Meteor infected or not, you still would have been Smallville. You know, I always had you pegged for a hero complex anyway. You always were the kind of guy who was there for people, believing they could be saved - even from themselves. You trusted people, just because. I sort of envied you for that. And here you were, saving people everyday. Saving _me_ too…

"Look, I just want to say thanks. I, um, I owe a lot to you…and I just –" Lois broke off, unable to say more. She wished that she could have the chance to say all this in person, to thank him for all he had done for her over the past few years. He had unwittingly given her the first place she ever felt at home. He had been her reminder that there were still genuine, honestly good people out there. He had been her best friend, the person closest to her, the man she had come to love. And she had never really told him that.

Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket suddenly. Lois reached into her jeans, surprised. She hadn't realized that she had taken her cell phone with her. The sight of the small sleek phone was a reminder that the world was still spinning and people were still going about their business. The world hadn't stopped, not even for Clark Kent. Lois' face settled into a more determined expression. The phone had also reminded her that there were things she needed to do, people she needed to call and take care of. She was relieved suddenly at the renewed sense of purpose. She had something to work at, something to distract her from grief.

Lois rose to her feet as the phone stopped vibrating. She cast a quick look around the loft of the barn and stopped, her eyes on his small desk. Usually, the only thing that occupied the top of the desk other than his neatly organized belongings was a big framed photo of Lana Lang, a picture that had laid claim to that spot for as long as Lois could remember. But there was another framed photo there now, blocking the raven haired girl from view. Lois bent down slightly, surprised. When she saw the picture, she froze, pleasantly surprised.

It was Clark's first day working at the Planet. She knew from the dark blue button up he was wearing that was covered in smoke and ash, mementos from the bus that had exploded outside the building that day. Jimmy had snapped this picture, she remembered, when he had heard that Clark had officially joined the Daily Planet team and came down to congratulate him. In the picture, she was standing across from Clark, her arms crossed and a look of annoyance plainly evident on her face, betrayed only slightly by a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Clark himself had a look of distinct smugness on his face that made him look adorably like a little boy who was pleased about managing to get his way. Lois couldn't remember what exactly was happening in the picture that made them that way, but she smiled anyway. It was a picture of the two of them doing what they did best.

_Annoying the hell out of each other,_ she thought. _And enjoying every second of it._

Lois straightened up to leave, knowing that whoever had called – more than likely Oliver, or maybe Chloe – was bound to call back. But before she did she picked up the frame, clutching it under her arm. She doubted Clark would begrudge her this. Lifting her head, she looked around the loft once more and gave it a small, sad smile.

"Goodbye, Smallville."

With nothing left to say, she left the barn, making her way back towards her car as Shelby trotted along after her. She contemplated taking Shelby with her; the poor dog was going to need someone to feed him, and she supposed if she downed enough allergy pills –

The phone buzzed against her hip again, annoying and insistent. She was positive it was Ollie calling to berate her about leaving her apartment. She dug the phone out of her pocket.

"Look Ollie," she said as she brought the phone up to her ear, "I don't care what you said. Just because you –"

She stopped short.

"Jimmy? I haven't had my cell with me that's why I – Jimmy, what's wrong?"

There was a long pause on Lois' end as her stomach writhed uncomfortably. Before –

"Oh my God."

And for the third time that day, Lois Lane was sick.

* * *

As Lois raced her way back towards Metropolis,she left her grief and dwelling feelings temporarily behind, unaware of anything other than her urgency to get back to the city.

Because of this, she remained unaware of the heartbeat miles away, steadily growing stronger and quicker with each beat, or of the sharp breaths suddenly being greedily sucked in.

Or of the pair of blue eyes flying open in shock, adjusting to the world once again.

* * *

**Emotional!Lois, I know, but I needed to get it out of the way. The next chapter is where I'll delve into the rest of the plot, and more of your questions will be answered :) The angst will lessen a bit too.**

**Oh, and a note to all those who enjoy reading my fics: expect something fluffy/funny/romantic from me after this story. Writing this has been quite draining emotionally, and I'm itching to do something upbeat next. And Happy Easter tomorrow to all those who celebrate. If not, Happy April 12!**

**Songs used:**

**Save Us - Cartel**

**The Blues - Switchfoot**

**Comes And Goes (In Waves) - Greg Laswell**

**Review would be lovely! :) I'm off to review the fics that have been pilling up alerts in my inbox.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Hey everyone! Sorry for the delayed update, I wanted to get this out sooner than I did, but I hit a short case of writer's block. Good news though, is that I'm no longer sick, _and _the writer's block did not last. :) I want to thank everyone who left a review -- they really get me through the whole writing process when times get tough. I'd like to give a particular shout out to **Mercedes88,** who's review was very sweet and inspiring :). So with that said, I won't keep you any longer; go ahead and read. Hope you enjoy!

Stiletto airs tomorrow!!!

* * *

Lois squealed her car tires as she spun into a 'parking space' – she justified parking in the alley by reminding herself of the ridiculously full hospital parking lot – and practically jumped from the car before she could even put it into park.

She quickly glared at a cop across the street, silently daring him to give her a ticket as she sprinted towards the hospital, nearly knocking over a group of people on their way out. For the second time in two days, she decided to forgo the elevator in favor of the stairs, knowing she could scale those faster. She wondered quietly if she was ever going to have the patience for elevators again after all of this was over.

Dodging past a few nurses, who paused only to give her disapproving glares, she ran her way down the end of the hall to the corridor Jimmy had told her about. When she rounded the corner, she caught sight of him slumped on a bench against the wall. Lois exhaled. She had never been so relieved to see him; save for maybe when he had finally woken up from his coma in Star City. Lois noted the relief with mild surprise; she had considered Jimmy a friend before, but after the events around and after his and Chloe's disaster of a wedding she had come to view him much like a little brother. She was glad to see that one of her friends at least had come away from yesterday unscathed.

_Unscathed physically,_ she corrected herself. _Mentally, however…_

"Jimmy."

"Lois!" Jimmy jumped up from his seat, relief evident on his face. He gave her a brief hug as she approached before pulling away to say, "Thank god. I didn't know who else to call."

"Jimmy," Lois said firmly, pulling him back down to sit on the bench. "What happened?"

Jimmy had buried his face in his hands. He looked up at her question, his expression pained. "I – I went to go find Chloe. When I found out that no one had seen her I had to check – I had to see if she was okay. I went by the Talon and –" Jimmy exhaled sharply. "It was a mess, Lois. Completely trashed. I went to the apartment and Chloe was – she was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. I thought – I thought she was…"

He stopped at Lois' frozen expression.

"And?" she whispered.

"And I called 911 and they brought us here. They won't tell me anything yet," he admitted.

Lois placed a hand over her mouth, attempting to regain her bearings. There was no way she could handle losing two people she loved so close together; one was bad enough. Chloe had to be okay. No, she was _going_ to be okay.

"Mr. Olsen?"

Both Jimmy and Lois raised their heads as a doctor appeared in front of them, looking tired and worn. They both scrambled to their feet.

"Yes?" Jimmy said quickly, at the same time Lois demanded, "Is she going to be okay?"

"Uh," the doctor said hesitantly, looking at Lois.

"Oh it's okay," Jimmy said, "Lois is family – she's Chloe's cousin."

The doctor nodded, assured. "Miss Sullivan has extensive damage to her vertebrae and –"

"English, please," Lois waved off her technical terms.

"There's a lot of damage," the doctor tried again. "Her ribs have sustained massive fractures and so has her spine. We found some internal bleeding as well and we've been monitoring that –"

"Is she going to be okay?" Lois demanded again through numb lips.

The doctor looked at the young woman and frowned slightly. "Honestly, we don't know. Right now she's in Intensive Care. She can go either way. It all depends on how she does over the next twenty four hours. At this point I'd say Miss Sullivan has a fifty/fifty chance."

Lois felt Jimmy's hand tighten around her arm as the doctor continued.

"I can assure you that we're doing everything we can for her. She's awake right now. One of you can go in and see her for a few minutes, but you'll need to keep it brief."

Lois looked up hopefully but stopped, looking sideways at Jimmy.

"You should go," she said. "You're technically still –"

"Lois," he cut her off. "It should be you. If there was anyone Chloe would want to see at a time like this, it would be you. You go."

She nodded and gave him a tiny but grateful smile. "Thank you."

Lois followed the doctor down the hall towards a closed hospital room, trying not to notice the startling similarities to the day her mom had died all those years ago; the long hallways, somber atmosphere, the overpowering sterile smell... Lois stopped herself from making any more connections between that day and this one.

_That was different,_ she told herself firmly. _No one is dying today._

The doctor placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently before opening the door for her.

"Just keep it brief," she reminded her. "And please try to refrain from getting her worked up or stressed; we need her to stay calm and relaxed."

Lois pushed past her wordlessly and walked inside the room. It was a small room, made even smaller by the six or seven machines taking up space around an old hospital bed. And in the bed, attached to life by dozens of wires, was Chloe.

The left side of her face was swollen and black with bruises that seemed to extend down past the collar of her hospital gown. Dried blood was caked on underneath some gauze wrapped around her head, staining through the white fabric to show on the other side. One arm was carefully wrapped up in a sling, and more bandages peeked out of the gown around her shoulders. She looked up as Lois walked in.

"Chlo?" Lois managed to get out as she edged closer to the bed. She leaned down slightly, gripping the petite blonde's hand with her own.

"Lois," Chloe tried tremulously to smile. "Hey, cuz."

"Chloe," Lois tried again. "What _happened_? You look like you've just spent the last twenty four hours in a WWE match."

A pained expression crossed Chloe's face. She shook her head slightly. "Lois I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

A brief flash of anger flared up deep inside Lois. She was so sick of people saying that. She was so tired of apologies and excuses and _lies_. But as quickly as the anger came, it faded; this was _Chloe_, and she was hurt. She swallowed loudly. "What are you sorry for?"

Chloe leaned forward a bit. "Davis. Lois, it's my fault –"

"Davis?" She had heard the name before. Hell, she had even met the guy. Creepy, but harmless. So she didn't understand the sudden feeling of unease that took hold as she spoke his name aloud. Maybe it was the fact that he had been missing with Chloe this past week. Lois had just assumed – well there had always seemed to be some sort of weird attraction between the two –

"Chloe," Lois said slowly, trying to make sense of the situation. "Did Davis do this to you?"

Chloe shook her head. "Lois you have to understand –"

"Then make me understand, Chloe!" Lois' voice gave away the tension and frustration she was trying to hide. She took a moment to pull herself back under control. She tried again, calmer. "No one will explain anything to me. Nothing makes sense anymore. I just – please, Chlo. Just tell me what's going on."

Chloe's blue eyes searched her face for a moment. "Davis – he isn't human, Lois."

"What you mean like –?" Lois stopped short, her expression darkening in a mixture of shock and anger. "Are you trying to tell me _he's_ that thing that destroyed half the city and –"

The words _'killed Clark'_ choked off in her throat, but Chloe didn't seem to notice.

"We found out –"

"_We?_"

"Clark and I. We found out about him a few weeks ago. He – he was having these transformations. He was turning into this monster and he had no control. He was killing people, Lois, and he couldn't stop himself. He's the one responsible for all the weird disappearances lately. We found out about him, and soon afterwards he came to me. He said that he – he wanted me to help him kill himself. At first I didn't think I could. How do you – how do you help someone you care about take their life? But in the end, I did." Chloe's voice was soft, but Lois stared at her as she spoke with a transfixed horror, as though Chloe was standing up and screaming the awful words. "I thought he was gone. But when I went home that night, he showed up in my basement, completely fine. He said that he thought he was immortal. Whatever killed him only made him stronger. I didn't know what to do; I knew he was dangerous. Then he told me he thought he found a way to tame the beast. A way to not become a monster.

"He said that it was the way he felt about me that calmed him down. And he said that being close to me helped. He asked for my help. So I hid him in the basement. I didn't tell Clark. He would have been upset and worried. He didn't understand; Davis _needed_ my help. He needed me. I _had_ to help him. So I hid him.

"When we were found out, we decided to get him away from here. We were going to go somewhere where he couldn't hurt anyone else. I needed to at least _try_ to help him. And for the first little bit, I thought it was going great."

"But…" Lois prompted hoarsely. This story didn't have a happy ending; that she already knew. But it was time for the blanks to be filled.

"In the end, we couldn't stop it. We were getting ready to leave town. We stopped by my apartment for a minute, just so I could grab a few things and –" Chloe paused. She sighed shakily. "He was upset about something. Really upset. He started to change, and… He doesn't, um, he can't really control his own strength sometimes. So when he hit me I blacked out. I came to once, but he was gone. There was blood everywhere. At first I thought something had happened to him, but it was _my_ blood. I heard someone shouting my name, but I passed out again. Next thing I knew, I woke up here."

Raising her eyes to gauge Lois' expression, Chloe tried to smile again. "I know you're disappointed in me, and I'm sorry for that. But you have to understand Lois; I had to do what I thought was right."

_Like hiding and aiding a murderer?_ the voice in her head murmured incredulously. Lois stared at her cousin, unsure of what to say.

She looked at the woman in the hospital bed in front of her, really looked at her, and wondered where along the road she had lost her cousin. How much did she even _know_ about her favorite cousin anymore? Over the past year Chloe had drifted away from her, cloaking herself in her secrets. Chloe had always been a little secretive with her, even more so lately, but she'd always taken the same approach as she had with Clark; if Chloe wanted her to know something, she would tell her. But this was more than a simple secret. This had gotten Clark killed. Chloe's decisions had been poorly made, and it made Lois want to stand up and rail against her. But at the same time, Lois knew, she was still Chloe. Her little cousin who she had loved so much and tried to protect as fiercely as she had her own sister. The girl who had called her almost weekly to tell her all about her freak show of a town, and complain about how the boy she liked so much didn't ever look at her as anything more than his friend. Chloe had always been there for her and vice versa, but now…where did everything leave them?

"Lois?"

"Yeah?" The answer was reflexive.

"I need you to do me a favor."

Lois raised her eyes.

"I need you to tell Clark that he's…it's not Davis anymore. I think that the human part of him he had is gone. And I need you to tell him that I'm sorry. I understand if he doesn't want to speak to me again," Chloe said quietly.

Lois' throat tightened again. She swallowed thickly. "Chlo, I think you know as well as I do that Clark would forgive you even if you burned every last plaid shirt in his closet; you're his best friend, he loves you."

"I don't know. I'm not sure if I hold onto the best friend title anymore," Chloe said remorsefully, eyeing Lois. "Will you give him my message? I know that Da – it has destroyed a lot of downtown already, but there's still time for him to…"

She broke off, giving Lois a quick glance. Lois chuckled dryly under her breath. It was almost amusing to hear those hints and pauses now that she knew about Clark. So many people trying to protect Clark and his secrets…

"Still time for him to what? Blur to the rescue?" she asked.

Chloe gaped slightly. "You know?"

"He told me," she said shortly. It was, technically, true.

Chloe nodded. "Wow. I didn't think he was going to tell you this soon."

_Well there wasn't much time left when he did,_ her mind supplied bitterly. Lois shook her head to clear the thoughts away.

"Will you tell him for me?"

Lois froze, unsure of what to say. Chloe didn't know.

_Oh god, Chloe doesn't know,_ Lois blinked. Hardly anyone knew. She still had to inform people about what had happened…Clark's family, his friends, everyone.

She looked into the eyes of her little cousin. She wasn't so little anymore. She had grown up, made her choices. But despite the bad decisions that she had made and the guilt she carried, Lois knew that Chloe would be devastated when she heard about the death of her best friend. Normally Lois told Chloe everything, but Chloe didn't look like she was in any state to receive bad news as she lay bandaged and battered in a hospital bed.

Thankfully, Lois was saved from her internal debate by the doctor poking her head back into the room.

"Miss Lane?" she said quietly. "I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave. Miss Sullivan needs her rest. You can come back later."

Lois nodded. The doctor crossed the room and started fiddling with the various machines surrounding Chloe's bed. Lois turned back to Chloe and gave her a soft smile. She reached over and brushed a lock of hair away from her forehead. "Get some rest, baby. I'll come back later, okay?"

Chloe nodded in response and closed her eyes as more morphine made its way back into her system.

Grabbing her purse, Lois left the room quickly and made her way back to the hall where Jimmy sat.

"Lois," he said, looking up quickly. "Where are you going?"

"There's someone I have to talk to Jimmy," she answered quickly. "I'll be back soon. Are you going to…?"

Jimmy nodded. "I'm staying."

"Will you, um, will you call me if anything…" It was hard to force the words out.

"I'll call you if anything changes; good or bad," he assured her.

Lois nodded. She managed a small smile and said, "I have my cell. I'll be back later."

With that, she turned on her heel and made her way back to her car. She almost smiled at the noticeable absence of a ticket – the Lane glare worked every time – and floored the gas, driving quickly towards a certain ex's house. She had questions, and she was sure as hell going to get some answers.

* * *

Sound burst into life in his mind, loud and startling.

It wasn't a bad noise, just a hum. But after the suffocating silence, it seemed like a deafening ring.

Persistent thoughts pushed at the edge of his mind, prompting him to remember things…important things. But he was tired, so tired. And sore. Muscles he wasn't even aware he had throbbed and ached. He felt like he had just been worked over by a few dozen army tanks. Or would that even have an effect on him, being run over time after time? Hmm. Maybe he could test that sometime. Though he wasn't even sure where he could get some tanks. He supposed he could always ask Lois…

Lois! Clark gasped out loud and then choked at the pain in his ribs. Lois' face popped into his mind, her eyes wide and tear filled. She was screaming his name, pleading with him to stay awake.

But, why? Clark struggled to remember the reason for Lois' tears. And then it hit him. That monster, the creature attacking Metropolis and killing innocent people.

Doomsday. He had tried to stop it.

But it had been strong, he remembered. Equally matched for him. Or, honestly, stronger than he was. He had fought with it long and hard. And he'd _lost._ He had lost, and Lois had held him until –

Until he had died.

He had died, right?

His eyes flew open quickly. He flinched immediately at the blinding white light. Was he dead? Was this heaven?

"_Kal-El."_

_No, not heaven, _Clark realized. His eyes adjusted to the bright light and he felt a jolt of shock and surprisingly, joy, a feeling he had never associated with this place and this voice.

The Fortress. Jor-El. _Earth._

He was alive.

"Jor-El?" he called, his voice a dull croak.

"_Welcome back, my son."_

* * *

"Oliver! Oliver, open up." Lois pounded on the door, irritated by its locked state. "Oliver Queen, if you don't open this door in the next ten seconds I'll break it down and –"

The door creaked open, revealing a sliver of pale face and a brown eye.

"You would break it down too, wouldn't you?" Oliver's voice said, sounding half amused, half exasperated. "Close the door behind you."

The door creaked open a bit, and Lois slipped inside. Oliver was in his Green Arrow gear again, his hood pushed back and his hair damp from a recent shower. His face looked marginally better than the day before; the swelling had gone down now, and the blood was gone. Dark bruises still shadowed his face though, reminding her of Chloe.

"I thought you were going to stay at your apartment," Oliver said, interrupting her from her thoughts.

Lois gave him a semi-exasperated look, and he relented.

"I expected you to show up here sooner, actually," he admitted. He paused to look at her. "Where did you go?"

Lois waved off his questions, jumping straight to the point.

"Oliver," she said, "the monster –"

"Doomsday," Oliver corrected.

"I – what?"

He shrugged. "That's what Clark called it."

"Oh." She shook the unexpected Clark mention off and continued, "Well whatever you want to call it, it is – _was, _whatever – Davis Bloom. That paramedic friend of Chloe's."

Oliver paused. "I know. They came to me about it a while ago. But that was when we thought he was dead."

She stared at him for a moment and let out a sigh. "I should have known. But that's not what I came here to say. I came here because I need to know; is he dead for sure this time?"

Oliver put down the glasses he'd been about to slip on and leaned up against the back of the couch. He regarded her carefully for a minute and said, "Lois if I tell you this, you better not do anything stupid."

"I'm not going to spill all your secrets all over the front page of the Daily Planet, if that's what you mean."

He shook his head. "You know that's not what I'm talking about. I already know we can trust you. I mean stupid as in running into a situation without thinking. I _know_ you. Look, when we found out Davis was still alive and we saw what he was capable of, we knew that Clark was the only one that was any match for it. But that's pretty much all we knew. We didn't know for sure if he would be able to stop it. And none of us could actually see the fight happening – it was too dark, and the air was full of debris. We saw Clark right before he went in to fight it.

"Next thing we knew, you came running out of nowhere and ran in to find Clark." Lois wondered if she imagined the hint of admiration in the blonde hero's voice. "And when we went in after you, we found you and Clark…" Oliver's eyes met hers. "We sort of messed up here, Lois. When we saw you holding Clark and we realized he was dead, our priorities shifted. We more or less assumed that he had killed Doomsday, and we focused on getting you and him out of there. When we went back shortly after to retrieve its body, we saw that one of the buildings nearby had collapsed. We've been sifting through the wreckage to find it, but –"

"But you don't know for sure," she finished for him. She bit her lip. Was there no good news today?

"No," Oliver admitted, "we _don't_ know for sure. But there's a good chance that Clark _did_ manage to stop it and the body is just buried."

"I'll believe it when I see it," she muttered, staring out the window into the searing sunshine.

"That's actually where I'm going now," he said, placing the glasses back on his face. "We're going to go search for it."

Lois let out a sigh and uncrossed her arms. "I have to go too."

Before Oliver could ask she said, "You can relax; I'm not going monster hunting. I'm going back to my apartment. I still have to call Mrs. Kent."

"Ah." Oliver nodded in understanding. "Lois, I –"

"Yeah, I know." She made her way to the door before turning back. "Be careful, Ollie."

"You too, Lois."

* * *

"If three whole searches of the area gave us nothing, I don't see what a fourth will do," Dinah pointed out tiredly as they filed back into Oliver's apartment.

"You don't know that," AC argued. "There's a lot of wreckage to sort through. Maybe –"

"It's time to face facts, Fish Stick," Bart said, rubbing his fingers over his eyes as he grabbed a can of soda from the fridge. "I don't think that that thing is under there."

"But we don't _know_ –"

"Don't we?" Victor interrupted. "I think it's safe to say that things aren't looking so good."

"We'll do one last sweep of the city," Oliver stated, ending a potential argument. "If we don't find anything by the end, we'll –"

"You won't find it."

The five of them turned, surprised. Bart's can of soda hit the ground with a thud.

Clark Kent stood in the hallway,

"Clark!" Bart gaped, staring at his friend as his soda fizzed over Oliver's carpet, staining it slowly.

"Clark?" Oliver croaked, staring at his friend with a stunned expression. "You – you can't be – You're _dead._"

Clark shook his head. "No, I'm not."

He stepped out of the hallway into the sunlit room. He was barefoot, wearing only a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt stretched a little too tightly across his chest. His black hair was messy, jutting up in different directions, and the bare skin of his arms and face were unmarked. There was no trace of a single cut or bruise anywhere. He looked as normal as he had two days ago, before everything had happened.

"Clark," AC forced out. "How did you – how are you –?"

Clark held up a hand. "I'll explain in a minute, but before I do you should know: Doomsday is still alive."

* * *

Jimmy leaned back in the hospital chair, rubbing a hand over his eyes wearily. He yawned in spite of himself, and felt his eyes flutter closed. He hadn't slept in over twenty four hours. After finding Chloe the day before, he hadn't had the chance. He had been making frantic calls and waiting around in the Intensive Care waiting room for someone to give him any information.

Chloe. He sighed. He wasn't sure where he was with that relationship anymore. They had just fallen apart in the past few weeks. He hadn't ever expected that to happen to them, but it had. He had gotten angry over the way things had turned out, but now he found himself feeling guilty. Some of the things he had said to her flashed through his mind. About Davis, her loyalties, their marriage. He had questioned it all. He had meant what he said at the time.

But that didn't mean he didn't love Chloe. And the thought of her lying beaten and broken in a hospital crushed him. He wished there was something he could do…

Jimmy's head tilted back to lean against the wall. Sleep was pulling him slowly into unconsciousness, causing the noise around him to fade. He listened to the quieted voices, the occasional squeak of a hospital gurney nearby, the continuous, monotonous beep….

Someone ran past him, bumping into his knees and startling him awake. He blinked in confusion as a couple of doctors ran past him towards the end of the hall.

"She's flat-lining," someone shouted. "We need some help in here!"

Jimmy felt his heart stop as he watched them run into Chloe's room.

* * *

Clark's story was met with silence as his friends stared at him with wide eyes.

"God Clark," AC finally said, breaking the silence. "Is there anything you can't do?"

"Look," he said, "I know it sounds crazy, but –"

"Clark," Victor said, "think about who you're talking to. It doesn't sound _that_ crazy."

Clark smiled at him, relieved. His relief was short lived, however, when a pressing thought occurred to him. He turned to Oliver.

"Who thinks I'm dead?" he asked urgently, fearful of the answer. He hoped news hadn't been able to spread too far, or else damage control was going to be difficult; explaining to his friends and coworkers why he was suddenly and inexplicably back from the 'dead' wasn't something he looked forward to dealing with on top of everything else. "My mom doesn't think I'm dead does she?"

He felt his stomach knot at the thought of his mother hearing about his death.

"I'm not sure," Oliver admitted slowly. "Lois was going to call her today. Besides us, she was the only one who knew what happened."

Lois. The memories of her right before everything had gone dark flashed before his eyes again. Clark's head snapped up. "Where is she?"

"She was going back to her apartment to make the call," Oliver answered. "She left a while ago."

Nodding, Clark said, "I've got to go. I'll be back soon."

"Clark." Oliver's voice stopped him before he could speed away. He stepped closer and lowered his voice a bit. "Be careful."

"Of Lois?" he almost laughed. "I will."

"No," Oliver shook his head. "Be careful about how you do this. Lois...she was really broken up over what happened. I practically had to drag her away from the scene."

Guilt twisted in his stomach, but Clark lifted his chin. "I can handle Lois."

Then he was gone, the door slamming shut behind him.

For the first time in twenty four hours, Oliver smiled. "Handle Lois? Good luck with that Boy Scout."

* * *

Lois sat down on the edge of her couch, her phone cradled in her hands as though it were something precious. She took a few steadying breaths, her fingers hesitating over the buttons. She'd been stalling ever since she had arrived home a couple hours before.

"You can do this, Lane," she murmured. "You can do this. You _owe_ it to her to be the one to call."

But the thought of hearing Martha's kind voice in her ear and delivering the shattering news made Lois want to crawl back under her covers and sleep for a year.

_You owe her._

Lois imagined the phone call as she stared at the display screen. The phone conversation would start off normal; it wasn't weird for her to call Martha. She had kept in touch with the woman who had taken her in years ago, even after Mrs. Kent had moved away. They would exchange pleasantries, Lois supposed, and Martha would inevitably ask how things were going at work with her son, like she always did.

And then what? Was that when she was supposed to deliver the final, crushing blow?

Lois straightened her shoulders. She knew that if she didn't do it now, she would lose her nerve. Taking one last deep breath, she dialed the number she knew off by heart. She raised the phone to her ear and tried not to wince at each ring.

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Pick up, Mrs. Kent. Please pick up. I don't know if I can make this call again –_

Lois jumped when she heard her door creak open behind her. The phone suddenly forgotten, she panicked as she imagined Jimmy coming to tell her that something had happened to Chloe in her absence. She whirled around, the phone still pressed to her ear.

"Lois."

The phone slipped through her grasp and hit the floor.

Clark.

* * *

**Slight cliffie, yeah.**

**I know some of you are probably scowling at your screen, because I didn't explain why Clark is on his feet again or what happened when he woke up but no worries -- that will be answered in the next chapter during his unavoidable conversation with Lois. :) After some deliberation, I decided that revealing that would be better during the next chapter.**

**So please review! Oh and the next chapter shouldn't take as long as this did - I plan on writing the fifth chapter this weekend. **

**Songs used:**

**Never Say Never - The Fray**

**You Could Be Happy - Snow Patrol**

**Stop And Stare - One Republic**

**I'd love to hear what you think!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Update time! I've got some good news for all those who aren't big on the angst -- there's much less in this chapter. I worked hard on the Clois scenes, because I felt that after the lack of face to face Clois you've put up with the past couple chapters, you guys deserved it. :) I'm going to warn you though: my editing may be off. Very long story short, I suffered from a head injury today, and I'm still a little out of it. So I did my best, but I'm sure things slipped through the cracks. Anyway, I won't bother you anymore. Go read and enjoy :P

* * *

Lois felt her lips part as she stared at the man in her doorway. In the background, she heard her phone crash against the ground, its ringing cutting off as plastic pieces scattered along the living room floor. A jumbled mess of questions tumbled through her mind, nothing coherent enough to actually voice. She wasn't sure if she was capable of speech at the moment anyway.

How many times in the nearly sleepless hours the night before had she imagined Clark walking through her door with a big smile on his face, sitting down on her couch and suggesting that they watch a movie like he always did, as if yesterday had never happened? She had wanted that more than anything.

But she had known it wasn't possible. Clark wasn't going to come back. She was never going to pick up the phone and hear his voice again. She was never going to see him walk into work in the morning, or see him make that slight pouting face when he thought she was taking on a story that he viewed as too dangerous. She was never going to see him again; she couldn't, he was gone. He, like everyone else she loved, had left her alone. In his case, it was unintentional of course, but that didn't mean it had hurt her any less. Her best friend was gone, and there was nothing she could do. She had resigned herself to that fact late the night before.

So that didn't explain why he was standing not ten feet away from her, his face apprehensive as he watched her. Logically, this was impossible. She already _knew_ he couldn't be here. So she didn't understand why she was seeing him as clear as day.

_Dreaming,_ she thought suddenly. _You must be dreaming. I must have fallen asleep somewhere in between pacing my apartment and worrying about what I was going to say to Mrs. Kent._

As Lois stared at the very vivid Clark, she bitterly congratulated her subconscious on being so sadistic.

Clark swallowed hard, as he watched Lois' expressions change rapidly. He had panicked slightly before he had actually opened the door to her apartment, fearing her reaction. With Lois, it was bound to be unexpected, so he'd known that he would have to proceed with caution. But of all the things he expected, it wasn't the reaction she gave.

First, she looked stunned. Her face went slack, and the phone in her hand slipped from her grasp and shattered against the floor. She had stood there gaping at him for a good sixty seconds before her mouth had snapped closed again. He heard her give a small sigh, and her expression changed to a look of sadness tinged with slight defeat.

He watched, shocked, as she simply gave him a weak smile and shook her head, sitting back down on the couch across from him.

"You shouldn't be here," she sighed, looking down at her interlaced fingers.

Clark felt like he had been doused with ice. She…she didn't want him here? _This_ was her reaction to seeing him again? Just a quiet, relaxed, 'you shouldn't be here'? Of all the things he would have guessed she'd do or say, this hadn't even crossed his mind. Yell at him and throw things, sure; jump into his arms and hold him tight like he had hoped, maybe. But quietly telling him he shouldn't be here with her was _not_ what he had anticipated.

"Lois?" he managed to croak, confused.

"I mean, it's not like I don't enjoy this," she continued. "But really, you shouldn't be here."

"You…you want me to leave?" he asked, his voice betraying the hurt he felt.

"Well it's for the best," she answered quickly, standing up again and taking a few steps toward him. She seemed reluctant to look him in the eye, instead focusing on the floor, on the shoulder of his shirt. "You don't…you don't understand how hard it'll be to wake up if I get to see you right now only to have it taken away whenever something jolts me out of this nap…"

Realization dawned on him then, and he understood. She thought she was dreaming. She didn't think he was actually there with her, and really, he didn't blame her; thinking that she was dreaming was actually a reasonable assumption to make rather than to think that her human – as far as she knew, at least – best friend was strolling back into her apartment the day after he had died.

"Oh," was all he said.

"Yeah," she said slowly. Before he could interrupt her, she was talking at lightning speed. "I mean, it's not that I don't enjoy the fact that I'm dreaming about you and all – well it's not like I've never dreamt about you before, either. But admittedly, those dreams were in a totally different context and trust me, in those I was so _not_ asking you to leave –"

He blinked. "Lois."

"– but you just died and I don't think that me dreaming about you being here with me is very helpful with the whole grief process. And God knows that if I keep going like this for much longer I'm going to be a mess when I wake up, and honestly Clark, I can't afford that because I'm hanging on by a really, really thin thread already, and there's still a bunch of calls and arrangements I have to make –"

"_Lo,_" he spoke louder, interrupting her ramblings. He hardly noticed the use of the nickname or how easily it had slipped out. "You aren't asleep. This isn't a dream."

Lois stopped and gave him an almost pitying look. She took a step closer to him and touched his face lightly. "Unless I've suddenly taken over Jennifer Love Hewitt's job on _Ghost Whisperer_, then yeah, I'm dreaming Smallville."

"Lois," he reached up to cover her outstretched hand with his. "It's really me, I promise."

She looked disconcerted by his touch, but shook her head still. "You can't promise that, you died. I saw you. Oliver and his friends took you – the body away."

"Yes, they did, but I didn't die, Lois. Just let me explain," he said earnestly.

Lois tilted her head, confused. "I don't -"

She jumped when something let out a loud, chirping beep. She looked down in surprise and pulled out her cell phone, never taking her eyes off Clark. "Hello? Oliver? She frowned. "Yeah. I might…" Her eyes grew wide. "But – I – Sure, I'll give you a call."

She shut her phone with a funny look and stared at him again.

"I thought you might want some reassurance," Clark told her with a tentative smile, happy he had had the foresight to plan ahead, "so I called Oliver on my way over here and asked him to call you and tell you that I was back. I thought he'd get to you a bit earlier than this, though…"

Lois' voice was soft and filled with stunned recognition when she finally managed to say, "Clark?"

"Yeah," he said in relief, "it's me."

When her expression condemned the last of her disbelief, he took it as a sign that it was okay to approach her. He took a few steps forward and was comforted when she moved towards him too, her arms coming around him as he lifted her clear off the floor.

He dropped his face down to bury it in her hair as he exhaled in a rush, his eyes drifting closed. Relief cleansed him as he tightened his grip on her. She was safe. She was safe, and for the moment, so was everyone else. And for a little while, he was free to just be there with her, holding onto her and pretending that there wasn't anything or anyone else except them together.

No sooner had he made a silent vow to not let her leave the circle of his arms for at least the next six or seven hours, she suddenly slipped out of his grasp and took a step backwards, fixing him with an angry look.

"Lois?" he said, half afraid.

"What the hell happened?" she demanded hotly. "Where did you go? Do you have _any_ idea what the past twenty four hours have been like Smallville? I practically–"

She broke off, incredulous, when he had the nerve to grin widely at her. He couldn't help it: it was so typical Lois to react this way that he couldn't fight the grin that would likely get him punched. Even just hearing his stupid nickname had him practically giddy.

"I'm serious!" she continued. "Wh–"

He silenced her suddenly by reaching out and pulling her back to him, covering her lips with his. He heard the muffled noise of surprise she made and smiled against her lips. When he pulled away a second later he leaned his forehead against hers and murmured, "Think you could hold off on the yelling for just a few more minutes? I can explain things to you in a second if you give me the chance."

"I'm not angry," she argued softly, her fingers playing with the collar of his shirt. "I can be angry tomorrow, right now I'm just glad you're here. Very, very confused, but glad."

He nodded and leaned in again to give her a quick kiss before he led her over to the couch. She sat down facing him, but only allowing a small amount of space to separate them, which Clark was grateful for. He looked over at her and smiled again before turning thoughtful.

"Any particular spot you want me to start at?" he asked.

"How about the part where you died?" she suggested hoarsely. Clark looked up at her voice and was surprised to see the raw emotion displayed on her face. He knew she hated vulnerability, so for her to let him see her feeling that way meant that what had happened had hit her every bit as hard as Oliver had cautioned him it had.

But she didn't look defeated or weak. She didn't look as though she had lay down and given up. And one look into her eyes and he knew she hadn't.

_Because she's Lois_, a voice inside him seemed to say proudly. _She's strong. She doesn't know what the word 'quit' means._

"I didn't die," he started.

"But," confusion swept across her face, "I was _there_, Clark. I was holding you, and then…"

She looked up at him, and he knew she was revisiting their last meeting as vividly as he had been since he had woken up.

"I know," he nodded. "But I wasn't dead."

"How?" Realization dawned on her face suddenly, and she gestured to him and asked, "Does it have to do with your meteor powers?"

Meteor powers. Right. He sighed, and gathered the words inside his head as he prepared to cross the threshold and tell her everything, even his secret. What amazed him though was that he didn't feel the need to work up to it, to gather the courage to get out the words. Telling her almost seemed…natural. He wondered why. Maybe it was because he had seen how she would react once before. Or maybe it was just because after everything else that had happened lately, telling Lois about himself hardly seemed like something to be afraid of. Important, yes; something to fear, no.

"Before I explain, there's something you need to know," he said, watching her intently. "Lois, I'm not meteor infected. I didn't get my powers from the meteor shower."

Lois stared at him curiously, and Clark continued, "I kind of came with it."

* * *

"Huh." Lois said thoughtfully, leaning back against the couch.

Clark shifted in his seat and stared at her, disbelieving. "I just spent the last hour divulging practically my whole life story up until a few days ago and all _you_, Lois Lane, hater of uncomfortable silences and just silence in general, can say is 'huh'?"

"Hey! Put yourself in my shoes for a second. It's not everyday that my best friend tells me he's a solar powered alien sent from another planet, and oh by the way, has super powers, is allergic to meteor rocks, and is destined to what, save the world?" Clark could only nod. She stared at him, her lips tilting into a slight smile. "So they _really_ weren't kidding when they told me you were special, huh?"

He tilted his head, confused.

"Never mind," she waved her own comment off. "Continue."

"So you're okay with this?" he asked, wanting to be certain. "You're fine with me being –"

"ET's cousin?" she asked with a laugh. "Why wouldn't I be?" When Clark still looked apprehensive, she covered his hand with hers and said, "You're still you, Smallville."

Clark smiled appreciatively and gripped her hand back. A second later Lois cleared her throat.

"So," she said. "About the whole _Dawn of the Dead_ thing, what happened exactly? I mean, you blacked out in the street and then what?"

Clark took a deep breath. "I woke up in my Fortress…"

* * *

"_Jor-El," he croaked again. He winced. His voice sounded rough and gravelly, almost foreign to even his own ears. "Why am I here? What happened to me?"_

"_You were gravely injured, my son. You are healing as we speak."_

_Clark eyed the soothing light that bathed his body. He shook his head as best he could – the muscles in his neck were stiff and tight. "I died. How am I…?"_

_Coherent thoughts were still hard to form, he found. But Jor-El spoke over his silence anyway._

"_There are many things you have yet to learn about your abilities, Kal-El. I warned you that the creature known as Doomsday was indestructible. Fighting it would prove useless."_

_Clark would have groaned if he thought he could. He wasn't in the mood for a lecture on all the things he should have done differently. "I had to try."_

"_You misunderstand me, Kal-El. Fighting the creature is part of your destiny; it is something you should have done, regardless of the fact that unlike the creature, you can be killed. But the creation of Zod did not succeed in killing you."_

"_Then what happened?" _

"_The source of your abilities is the radiation emitted by Earth's yellow sun. Without exposure, you would cease to keep and use these powers. Until now, you have never had to use the full extent of your abilities. Your battle with Doomsday drained you of all your energy. Once you had used up your store, your body entered a comatose state, hanging in suspension until you could gain it back once again."_

"_I fought it at night…" Clark said slowly, understanding. No sun. Nothing to give him his strength, and once he was used up he would have appeared dead. His friends would have just assumed that he was gone. _Lois_ would have thought…_

_Clark sat up slowly, painfully swinging his legs over the ledge he rested on. It was then he realized he was naked. He turned pink at his state of undress, despite being alone. "I need to go see me friends. They're going to need my help. Doomsday is still alive, isn't he?"_

"_Yes, my son. But there is nothing you can do for them now while you are weakened like this. Your friends are safe for now. You must heal a little longer before you can face Zod's creation once again."_

_Clark hesitated, his hands gripping the side of the icy ledge. "You're sure they're safe?"_

"_I would not lie, Kal-El. Your human friends are safe."_

_Slowly, Clark swung himself back onto the ledge and lay back down, relaxing into the light. "Jor-El, what can I do to stop it? Everything we do just makes him stronger."_

"_Zod created his abomination to be the ultimate destroyer. It in turn cannot be killed. There is only way to deal with a monster such as this."_

_A crystal started to glow nearby. Clark saw it and nodded, understanding. He would take care of it as soon as he could. His consciousness was already fading, and he felt himself drifting. He saw Lois' face against the back of his eyelids and relaxed; he'd see her soon. He would be able to hold her again soon, and this time it would be without the weight of death and despair hanging over them…_

"_Rest, my son. You have done well." _

* * *

Clark's voice was tight as he spoke. He knew that he was okay now, but thinking about how close he had come to losing everything and everyone he loved was still painful. At his emotional tone, Lois reached over again and slipped a comforting hand into his, giving him a reassuring squeeze. He squeezed back, taking a calming breath.

"After that," Clark continued, "I went to Oliver's to tell them I was alive…"

* * *

"_Wow," Bart managed after Clark finished recounting his conversation with Jor-El. "So you're fine. Just like that?"_

_Clark nodded. "Completely healed. I was lying out in the sun on Oliver's balcony before you guys showed up, just to be sure. But I feel normal."_

"_I need one of these Fortress things," Victor murmured. AC nodded in agreement._

"_Speaking of the Fortress," Clark said slowly. "There's one thing that bothers me. How did I get there?"_

_Oliver shifted slightly where he stood. "Ah, that was me."_

_Confused, Clark's eyebrows pinched slightly as he asked, "You? How did you –?"_

"_Remember when Chloe got in there to stop you from sending Davis away? When she came back after their short lived Bonnie and Clyde stunt, I stole that disk thing back from her. I didn't trust her with so I was going to give it back to you, but I never got the chance," Oliver explained._

"_That still doesn't explain why you brought me there," Clark pointed out._

_Oliver looked uncomfortable. "Look, Clark you and I didn't exactly part on good terms. We spent the last few weeks arguing about how to handle Doomsday, and I wasn't exactly easy on you about your decision not to kill it."_

"_You were just trying to get me to step up –" Clark tried to defend him, feeling like someone should._

"_I know, but I should have listened to you. We're supposed to be the good guys, Clark, and I was so focused on getting rid of the problem that I forgot that killing isn't something a hero does." Oliver paused. "But _you_ didn't forget that. When we thought you were dead, I just figured that bringing you back to your Fortress would be my final sign of respect, and that way we could keep your body and your secret safe until things died down a bit."_

_Clark nodded, accepting Oliver's story. For what felt like the first time in a long time, he gave his friend a genuine smile. "Thank you."_

_Oliver smiled in return until Dinah's amused voice floated over from her spot on the couch._

"_God, you guys aren't going to start making out or something, are you?"_

_Clark and Oliver hastily took a step back._

_Oliver cleared his throat. "So, about Doomsday, got any plans? How do we get rid of a monster that's virtually indestructible?"_

_Clark held up an oblong crystal. "We send him away. For good."_

* * *

"So Doomsday is still alive," Lois murmured, fear lacing her voice as she looked at Clark. The damn thing was still alive?She felt a rush of panic for the man across from her. As ridiculous as it was, she had the strongest urge to lock all her doors and windows, and hide Clark in the nearest closet. Anything to make sure it didn't touch him again.

Clark nodded. "Yes, but this time it will be different. We aren't going into this unprepared."

"Better not be," Lois said, stifling a yawn. She was exhausted. "You just came back, and I don't know if you noticed, but the last day without you haven't exactly been Mardi Gras for the rest of us."

Her words were teasing, but the sentiment was serious. Clark didn't miss this, nor did he miss her bleary eyes.

"When was the last time you slept?" he asked, as he watched her sway in place.

"Last night," she said defensively.

"For how long?" he asked, eyeing the half circles underneath her hazels.

"What are you, my nurse, Smallville?" she asked. She relented a second later under his questioning gaze. "An hour, maybe two."

Clark nodded, and before Lois could speak again she found herself in his arms being carried to her room.

"I said I hadn't slept, not that I had lost control of my legs," she protested, though she wondered if he picked up on the fact that she would have hit him if he tried to set her back down. Instead, she indulged herself by letting her head drop against his shoulder and twining her fingers into his shirt, the solid muscles and soft fabric acting as her proof that he was really there.

Clark stopped beside her bed, pushing back the covers and easing her down onto the mattress. For once, she seemed content to let someone take care of _her_, and so she didn't complain when he removed her sneakers and tossed them on the floor next to her trademark bunny slippers. Nor did she complain when he pulled the covers back up over her. He paused when he noticed something sticking out from underneath one of her pillows. He tugged on it slightly.

"Lois, is this my shirt?"

She grinned, even though her eyes were closed. "I'm not going to dignify that with an answer, Smallville."

"Mm-hm." He smiled at her, reveling in the first feeling of contentedness he had felt in a long time. He stared at her for a moment, marveling and happy, before he stood up to go back to her living room. He wasn't going to leave the apartment – he seriously doubted that he could, anyway – but he needed sleep just as much as she did. He had a lot to take care of tomorrow, and he needed rest.

Lois' eyes popped open when she felt his weight leave the edge of her mattress. He was on his way to the door, going back to the couch, no doubt. She almost rolled her eyes. She loved the fact that Clark was a gentleman, but sometimes it was a pain in the ass.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked, stopping him in his tracks.

Clark turned back to her to see her sitting up and watching him. He answered as though it were obvious. "I was going to go get some sleep."

"You don't have to sleep on the couch, Clark."

"Then where –? _Oh._" His heart hammered a little louder in his chest as he looked at her. He almost found it amusing: he knew he may very well be facing off with Doomsday again tomorrow and he was calm as could be, but the thought of sharing a bed with Lois Lane had his heart racing so fast he was sure that she was going to comment about it any second. "Are you sure?"

That comment only earned him a patented Lane eye roll. She pushed back her covers and moved over to make room. "Yeah, climb in."

Clark nodded and made his way over to the other side of the bed. He looked slightly nervous, and Lois started to smile, opening her mouth to tease him until he pulled off his jeans to reveal a pair of boxers. Her smile disappeared with a slight gulp. Clearly, she hadn't thought this all the way through. Thankfully he kept his shirt on, or else she knew would have been screwed; there would have been _no_ way she would be able to fall asleep then.

She watched as Clark inched towards the bed slowly, as though he expected her to change her mind at any minute. Eventually, after she got past the initial pants removal shock, she managed to regain some of her attitude and raised an eyebrow to ask, "Are you going to lie down sometime before morning, Smallville?"

He raised an eyebrow in return as she managed to bring out the confident, playful side of him, just as she always did.

"I suppose I could do that," he answered her. He very suddenly dropped down onto his side of the bed, hitting the mattress with such force that her side arched up in the air. Lois yelped in surprise as she flew off her spot and into Clark, who caught her with ease.

She picked up her head off his chest, her hair tousled. "God, you weren't kidding about the whole super strength thing, huh? If you broke anything, you're buying me a new bed frame, Smallville."

He laughed in response. When Lois felt his chest move beneath her, she seemed to realize their position and rolled off him, meaning to move away. She was surprised to feel one of Clark's arms wrap around her waist, pulling her back against his side. She turned in to face him, surprising comfortable with their intimate position.

Clark didn't to mind either. He ran his fingers lightly against the skin of her arm and smiled again when he felt her shift closer to his body. In that moment he felt immensely grateful for the second chance he had been given here. Even if he lost to Doomsday again tomorrow – which he wouldn't, he thought fiercely – he was glad he had this one last chance to be here with Lois, to finally do things right. He wrapped his other arm around her too, holding her tightly.

"Clark?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Mm?"

"Just so you know: if I wake up in the morning and find that all this really _was_ a dream, I'll be pissed."

He grinned at her in the dark. "Your subconscious isn't _this_ creative, Lane."

"I mean it."

"Lo." He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. "Trust me. I'll be here."

Assured, Lois closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep in his arms.

* * *

Sunlight burned hot against the back of her eyelids, staining them red and warming her face. Lois felt her silky soft sheets against her legs and the strip of skin around her waist where her shirt had hiked up. She was confused as she tried to remember climbing in the night before. She tried to recall speaking to Martha Kent over the phone, but she couldn't. The image of her shattered phone sprang to mind instead, along with another of –

Lois stiffened.

_No,_ she thought. _Nuh-uh. That's not possible. That couldn't have happened, Lane._

She just had a very vivid imagination that was all; she tried to convince herself, not wanting to get her hopes up. She squeezed her eyes a little more tightly shut as she felt a leg brush against her own. A very, _very_ vivid imagination. One that made her feel like a hand was rubbing against her back, and someone's slow breaths were moving her bangs.

She knew that if she opened her eyes right then and saw nothing, she was only hurting herself. But really, it wasn't any kinder for her to stay in limbo like this, wondering if it really was Clark she was tangled up with right then or if she had let her grief get away from her. She thought about it for a second before deciding that after everything that had happened over the past few days, truth was always better than so-called blissful ignorance.

So she peeked.

And had never been so happy to do so.

Because when she opened her eyes Clark stared back at her, his blue-green eyes light and his face warm as he smiled widely at her. His dark hair was ruffled and messy from sleep, and, it figured; even that aspect made him look ridiculously sexy.

She almost groaned. Was he _trying_ to kill her?

Clark seemed to miss out on her train of thought there, because he simply smiled at her and said, "Told you I'd still be here."

_Good to see you kept your promise,_ she wanted to say, or wrack her brain for something sarcastic to shoot back, just to keep him on his toes. She figured it was about time she evened the playing field; she couldn't be the only one who kept getting stunned into momentary speechlessness. But she never got the chance, because before she could decide which to do Clark leaned forward, his mouth descending on hers.

She sighed and reached up to cup his face as his soft lips teased and caressed hers. She was by no means a morning person, but if waking up like this was an option then she could already feel herself warming up to the a.m. hours. Frustrated with the lack of contact – besides their lips – she pulled him closer, parting his lips.

Clark groaned low in his throat when he felt her tongue lightly trace the outside of his lips. He had only meant to give her a quick kiss before getting up to make breakfast, but he really had no complaints about the unexpected turn. As though it had a mind of its own, his hand slid lightly down her side, coming to rest on her hip where it traced random patterns against the exposed skin between her top and pajama pants. Lois tugged on his shirt again to draw him even closer, so he rolled them slightly so he lay half over her, still supporting his weight. Happy with the new turn of events, Lois let her hands slip down to the hem of his shirt, inching it up slowly –

An annoyingly cheerful jingle rang out from somewhere in the room and Clark pulled away suddenly.

"Yours or mine?" he asked, looking down at Lois questioningly.

"I shut mine off last night when I was planning on calling your mom," she shook her head.

Reaching his arm over the side of the bed, Clark slipped his hand inside his jeans and pulled out the cell phone Oliver had pushed upon him the night before. He held it up to his ear. "Hello? Hey Oliver."

He smirked when he heard Lois mutter a few unflattering remarks about Oliver and his timing. "No, I'm still at Lois's apartment."

Lois watched in amusement as whatever their friend said made Clark turn pink. He rolled his eyes a minute later and said, "I'll be out there shortly. Is everyone else ready? Okay, I'll be there soon. Bye."

"You're leaving?" she asked when he ended the call.

Clark nodded slowly in response. "We're going to take care of Doomsday once and for all."

The name caused her hands to still from their spot on Clark's chest, her amorous mood evaporating almost instantly. For a few hours, she had completely forgotten about the looming threat otherwise known as the massive, bony monster.

Clark noticed the change in expression and frowned. "Lois? Are you okay?"

"No I'm not okay, Smallville!" she answered, slipping off the bed and walking a few paces away. She stared out the window into the sunlit streets. "That thing almost killed you last time, and you're on your way to go meet up with it again!"

"Lois." She felt his presence behind her. He slid his arms around her waist. "I have to go."

"I know that." She sighed and turned in his embrace so that they were face to face. She took a deep breath. She knew that this was something he had to do, and she wasn't going to stop him. Hell, she was proud of him. But the thought of him going off again without her having the chance to say certain things to him was too great to ignore. She had learned her lesson the first time around. Lois bit her lip for a moment before deciding to plough on.

"Look," she said, "I know that I'm not very good at the whole verbalizing how I feel thing, but you already know how I feel about you so I'm just going to come out and say the rest. I can't lose you twice, Clark. I can't. The first time was bad enough. And I know that going off to fight it is something that you need to do, and it's something you _should_ do. I'm not trying to stop you from doing that. I just, I need you to know that no matter what happens…"

She trailed off, but Clark picked up on the words unspoken. He smiled. "I love you, too."

He pulled away and watched her for a moment. Lois raised her eyebrows.

"I thought you were leaving?"

Clark smiled at her. "You're coming too."

This surprised her. She had expected him to do the same as he had done on the Daily Planet rooftop: make her promise to stay put until he came back.

_Fat chance,_ she thought with a snort. If he thought she was going to sit around and let him get hurt again...

"I figured it was better to take you to Oliver's with me instead of having you run there after I leave," he answered with a grin. He held out a hand.

Damn. He knew her too well.

"Fine," she smiled. "Let's go."

* * *

"Come on, Bart."

"No."

"Please?"

"_No,_ dude."

"You can do it in like, ten seconds."

"For the last time, AC, I'm not running to Mexico and getting you a breakfast burrito."

"Why not? We're going after Doomsday again today and I'm starving."

"Because Bart Allen is nobody's bitch," Bart answered with a grin. "Go swim there yourself if you want it so bad."

Oliver rolled his eyes over the gear he was collecting. _This_ was more like the team. Joking and laughing had taken the place of pain and grief, and everyone felt much more like themselves again. Sure, there was still an air of seriousness about them – they took this business with Doomsday _very_ seriously. But having Clark back with them and having an actual plan had raised their morality tenfold.

The door swung open suddenly as Clark sped into the room in a blur. Oliver was taken aback when he saw Lois jump down from Clark's arms; he hadn't expected her to tag along.

"Whoa, hot chick alert," Bart said. He was by Lois' side in an instant with a toothy grin. "Hey there gorgeous. Where has Stretch here been hiding you?"

Clark glared at his friend and offered grudging introductions. "Lois, this is Bart Allen. Bart this is Lois Lane."

"Speaking of Lois," Oliver said slowly, "what is she doing here? Not that I mind," he said quickly when she turned to glare at him, "it's just…"

"Oliver, I already told her everything," Clark explained.

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "_Everything_, everything?"

"If you're referring to the whole not from this planet thing," Lois interrupted, "yeah. He came out of the intergalactic closet last night." She looked towards the kitchen. "Got any coffee?"

Oliver shook his head, and refrained from laughing a minute later when Bart disappeared and reappeared in front of her with a coffee cup and a donut in hand.

"Oh sure," AC mumbled. "You'll get _Lois_ something to eat."

Bart turned, "As soon as you look like _that_ in tight jeans I'll get you food too."

"Now there's an image I'd rather not have," Victor shuddered as he walked into the apartment with Dinah in tow.

AC made a face at him, and Dinah interrupted with, "So we have our plan of action. What exactly are we waiting for?"

Oliver glanced at Clark for comfirmation. "Nothing, I hope."

Clark shook his head, standing tall and firm. He looked around at his friends, watching him expectantly, and at Lois, standing by his side. "No. Let's end this."

* * *

**So I'm hoping you enjoyed this installment. I gave into your requests and gave you both Clois and a Clark who's ready to kick ass :), so I expect some reviews. There's a couple things I want to say before you go review. The first is that I didn't really go into detail about Clark talking about his origins with Lois. THere's a reason for this: first off, we've all heard this story a thousand times before, and writing it down in detail just seemed ridiculously repetitive to me, especially because I went into great detail about a reveal in another of my fics. The other reason is, although I think Lois finding out is important, I didn't want the whole 'Clark is an alien' thing to be the focus of the Clois in this chapter. I wanted it to be more about their reunion.**

**The other thing I wanted to talk about is my choices for what happened to Clark (as was explained in his conversation/flashbacks with Lois). I borrowed from Doomsday the animated movie here, I believe. I've never seen the movie myself, but I've heard it discussed, and I decided to take the whole 'death-like coma' route because to me, if Smallville decides to give us a Clark death scene in the finale, I could see them doing some fake-out like this just to screw with us :P On another note, I wanted to say that although I've been a Superman fan since I was a kid, I don't know all that much about the mythos (though I'm sure if given the chance, I would have been a total comic book fan :P). So I did my best to keep it in line with what I do know, and hopefully I didn't step on the toes of** **any of you who are big on the mythos.**

**So please review! There's only one or two more chapters to come, and I want to get this done before the actual episode "Doomsday" airs.**

**Songs Used:**

**Iris - GooGoo Dolls**

**May Angels Lead You In - Jimmy Eat World**

**Awake -** **Secondhand Serenade**

**Review are loved. I'm just sayin'.**

**PS - For those who aren't aware, the Doomsday trailer was released. Go watch, it's awesome!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **I have to make this quick, because I'm in a hurry, but I just want to say thanks to everyone for all the wonderful support and reviews from everyone here. You guys have been amazing, and I ran out of time to reply to reviews like I planned to, so I want to say thanks; you guys were amazing.

So here's the final chapter. I hope you like it, (I also hope it turned out okay - I had to write it all in four hours :S) and I can't wait to write more fics after this.

**Doomsday airs tonight!!!**

_

* * *

__AC made a face at him, and Dinah interrupted with, "So we have our plan of action. What exactly are we waiting for?"_

_Oliver glanced at Clark. "Nothing, I hope."_

_Clark shook his head, standing tall and firm. He looked around at his friends, watching him expectantly, and at Lois, standing by his side. "No. Let's end this."_

There was a flurry of activity as everyone moved to get their gear together. Lois' eyes sparked with interest, but Clark tugged gently on her arm, pulling her into the seclusion of a hallway.

She looked up at him with a frown. "What is it, Smallville?"

Clark's hands reached down to clasp hers. "Look, I know that this didn't really work out very well last time, but I need you to stay here, okay?" Before she could interrupt, he continued urgently. "Lois there's no way that I can go and fight this thing if I'm worried about your safety. Please. It's different this time, I promise. See this?" He held up a large crystal for her to see. "All we need to do is distract it until I can get close enough to send it away."

Lois stared at the crystal in silence. It wasn't that she didn't trust him; it was just that she couldn't stand the thought of Clark going head to head with Doomsday again. Knowingly letting him go into such danger went against the grain. The thought of it was as disturbing as the thought of willingly throwing puppies onto the freeway.

But when she looked at his face, determined and brave, she already knew that she would do as he asked this time. If her staying was what he needed, then she would do it. This, she realized with little surprise, was not a new development, and it went both ways. This was just how they had been for a while now. Whether what was needed was someone to run in after them when they got into trouble, or someone to talk to when things got rough, the other would be there without question. She sort of doubted that there was much she _wouldn't_ do for Clark Kent. And by the burning look in his eyes, she got the feeling that that sentiment was very much mutual.

"Lois?" his quiet voice interrupted her thoughts. "Will you –?"

She cut him off suddenly by reaching up and pulling his face down to hers, smothering his words with her mouth. Rapidly recovering from his surprise, his arms wound around her, pulling her closer against him. This kiss reminded her of the one they had shared before his first battle with Doomsday; it was demanding and urgent like that had been, neither wanting to let go for fear of what would happen if they did. But there was a difference this time; there was even more between them than there had been two days ago. Maybe it was the result of the past twenty four hours – not even that much, she realized with a jolt; he hadn't even been back for a day – that had intensified the feelings between them. She had known she loved him before all of this, and now he knew too. And he loved her. She thought back to the earlier morning, laying with him in bed, and she wondered if that was how things could be after all this was over. Simple. Easy. Just the two of them, happy.

When she broke away for air, she looked him in the eye and said softly, "Just make sure you come home, Smallville."

Clark attempted to find his voice enough to tell her that he had no problem following that order, but couldn't seem to get any words out. Lois' kisses always seemed to be able to render him breathless; even the ones initiated by Red K did that to him.

He simply smiled instead. "So you'll stay?"

Although he could tell the thought of staying behind still bothered her, she nodded. "I'll stay."

"Boy Scout! Let's go!" Oliver called from the living room.

Lois' lips twitched into a smile. "_Boy Scout?_ _That's_ your codename? Talk about hitting the nail in the head with that one."

Clark rolled his eyes at her as they rounded the corner. Oliver was the only one left in the doorway. He looked up as they walked in. Noticing Lois' reluctant expression, he gave her a smile. "We'll be back soon, Lois."

And then they were gone.

* * *

"You're sure it's here?" Victor asked as they scanned the quiet wooded area around them. "Seems kind of tame for a monster bent on human carnage."

"It should be here," Oliver answered. He held up a small electronic device and studied it carefully. "The military is searching for this thing too, you know. They tracked reports to this general location."

"Why would it come here, though?" Dinah asked quietly, her eyes searching the trees.

"Seclusion? The darkness? It has a thing for bunnies? Does it matter?" AC asked, shifting slightly in his spot. "It won't stay here for long, will it? It's going to end up moving onto another city if we don't stop it now."

Oliver turned to Clark, a frown playing at the edge of his lips. "You're being awfully quiet, Boy Scout."

"Just listening," Clark said distractedly as he sorted through the cacophony of sounds the woods and its creatures made. Oliver nodded in understanding and turned back to the rest.

"Just keep in mind that we need to distract it long enough for Clark to beam him up to wherever the hell he's sending it to."

"The Phantom Zone," Clark elaborated, still watching the woods. He frowned; the surrounding area was suddenly very quiet.

"So, say this –"

"Um, guys?" Bart said quietly, cutting off Victor mid speech. "I'm no woodsman, but I'd be willing to bet that that is no squirrel."

The five other heads swiveled in the direction of Bart's gaze. A pair of luminous, crimson red eyes shone out of the dark, almost like an overgrown cat out of hell, some fifty feet away. Nobody moved.

Until it did.

There was a sudden groaning and snapping noise as trees suddenly went flying in every direction, their towering forms toppling over easier than a house of cards on a windy day as Doomsday streaked out of the darkness. Clark knew the plan was for him to hang back as much as possible until he had a clear go at it, but the creature was coming at them too quickly, heading towards the spot where Oliver and AC stood in plain sight. So he shot forward towards it, charging it down with as much strength as he could put into the hit. To Clark's relief, Doomsday reeled backwards and struck another tree with a snarl. It spun around, searching for him.

The tree tipped, and Bart yanked Dinah out of the way before she could be crushed. Pulling away from his grasp, Dinah planted her feet firmly on the ground, determined to distract its attention from Clark. She opened her mouth.

Clark heard the others gasp as the shrill scream drove into their eardrums like piercing needles. His hands scrabbled up to cover his ears, but he kept his eyes on Doomsday. It shrieked loudly, whether in pain or anger he wasn't sure, responding with its own deafening roar. It made a move towards her, deterred only when Oliver appeared on its right, firing off a few arrows into its face. Oliver's arrows, usually so efficient, were as useless as they had been days before. Doomsday swatted them aside with an almost lazy swipe of the hand. But the distraction was enough so that Victor could knock into it, enraging it further…

Clark gripped the crystal tightly in his hand, preparing to make his move. He just needed them to move so he could get closer, just enough to send him away for good.

Bart streaked towards the fray, at the same time, it seemed, that Doomsday decided it had had enough. Barreling past the others, it knocked Bart into the woods and sped off after him.

Bart cried out, and Clark was in the woods faster than he had a chance to form an updated plan of attack. No one, he had vowed, no one was going to get hurt by this thing again. He struck Doomsday from behind, sending them both crashing into an outcropping of rocks. The majority of the rocks shattered to dust on impact. With a roar, its bony hand stuck his cheek, sending shockwaves of pain throughout Clark's body. He knocked it down again, gripping his shoulders and knocked it against the ground, creating a crater. Clark spit out some blood.

_Please be right, Jor-El, _he thought as he struggled to keep the creature still. _Please let this work._

But as the worries about the blind faith he had placed in his birth father started to arise in his mind, the crystal started to glow in his hand. Doomsday bucked again, attempting to throw Clark off. But Clark held tight, able to do so from an increase in strength or just plain determination he didn't know. Clark slammed the crystal down against Doomsday's chest, trying to keep it there as long as possible until it sent him away. He had to let go; he had to let go at just the right moment so that he wasn't taken too. He remembered Lois accidently tagging along with him once by merely touching his wrist. It would be too easy to get sucked in to the Phantom Zone too.

"_Just make sure you come home, Smallville."_

And he would, he decided. That's all he wanted. After all this was over, he would go to the only place that ever really felt like home to him now:

Wherever Lois was. She _was _home.

The crystal flared brightly in his hand, and Clark prepared to let go. Almost uncontrollably, his eyes flicked up to the red ones that stared back at him. There was no trace of Davis Bloome left in them. There wasn't _anything_, nothing that represented or reminded him of the planet and the people he loved so much. There was nothing human about those eyes. They were empty. Doomsday had become the blank killing machine that it was intended to be. It didn't belong on earth. And that final look cemented his resolve. He pushed the crystal against it one last time and then leapt away.

Bright light flooded the area, and Doomsday roared out again, shaking the trees nearby. Then as quickly as it had come, the light faded, receding back to a single point. The roars faded away to an echo. Moving cautiously, Clark stepped forward.

The crater where Doomsday had lay was empty. It was gone.

A smile spread across Clark's face, and he wiped a smear of blood of his face. They had done it; Doomsday was gone.

A moan from the woods caught Clark's attention suddenly, and he sped back into the woods.

"Bart? Bart!" he yelled, his eyes searching the ground for his friend.

"_Ugh._ Right here."

Clark turned around. Bart was sitting half in half out of a bush, his costume torn slightly and twigs stuck in his hair.

"Are you okay?" Clark asked urgently, pulling Bart out of the tangled plant.

Bart brushed himself off and gave Clark a feigned reproachful look before he smiled a slightly bloody smile. "What took you so long, Stretch? That big head of yours weighing you down?"

Clark smiled back. "I save you and that's the thanks I get?"

"Were you expecting a kiss?"

"Keep it in your pants, Impulse," Oliver said, emerging from the trees with the others in tow. He looked at Clark. "It's gone?"

Clark nodded. "It's gone."

Oliver grinned. "Then let's get out of here."

"Great!" Bart said enthusiastically. "I'm thinking Arby's."

"Bart, dude, you still owe me a burrito," AC pointed out.

"And what did I tell you earlier?"

"That I needed to wear tighter jeans to make that happen."

"You can borrow some of mine," Dinah said with a smirk. "I'll even throw in some fishnets."

"I'm so hungry that I'd actually consider that."

"Wow, Fishstick," Victor grinned, "I didn't know you swung that way."

"Feel like going to celebrate, Clark?" Oliver asked over the teasing voices of the others.

"Actually," Clark smiled softly, his mind far away, "I think I'm just going to go home."

Clark said a quick goodbye before speeding off back towards Metropolis. Oliver held back a laugh at Clark's eager retreat. He recognized that look.

Yep, Lois Lane could do that to you.

* * *

Over the next few days, the various JLA members returned back to their lives, slowly leaving Oliver's apartment to rejoin the world.

Dinah and Victor were the first to leave, waiting only a few hours after Doomsday had been sent away before making their departure. Dinah had some business to take care of elsewhere, and Victor was going somewhere in Europe on a job from Oliver.

AC left the next morning, after catching up with Lois. He was currently living in the Miami area, it turned out, and was quite eager to get her to visit, much to Clark's chagrin.

"You should see the coastal area," he told her. "It's gorgeous. Perfect beaches."

"Last time you saw me I was a lowly muffin peddler," Lois pointed out. "Nowadays I can't exactly up and leave my job."

_Thank God,_ Clark thought, glaring at AC. He wondered if AC really was that anxious to get Lois to Miami or if he was purposely taunting Clark for kicks. He figured it was the latter.

"Maybe you should join us then Lois," AC suggested with a grin. "Lot more free time and flexibility. Plus, there's not a good guy to girl ratio as it is."

"Thanks but no thanks," she said with a laugh. "The last time I wore tight leather and kicked ass things got a little out of hand."

"It's a long story," Clark said in response to AC's confused expression.

"I _like_ long stories," Bart asserted hopefully, his eyes lighting at the mention of tight leather and Lois. The look Clark gave him was enough to shut him up, unless he wanted to feel the searing effects of heat vision.

Bar t left almost a few hours after AC made his departure. Although Clark liked having Bart around, it was almost a relief when the younger guy left, having spent the last few hours entertaining Lois with stories of his exploits in Mexico earlier that year while Oliver snickered in the corner at Clark's sullen expression.

Picking up his bag at the door, Bart grinned and clapped Clark on the shoulder. "Make sure you give me a call or drop by sometime. It's been too long since we've really hung out."

Clark smiled back and assured him he would. Bart then turned to Lois, his grin widening even more.

"And _you_, beautiful," he said flirtatiously, "should _definitely_ call me."

Clark's expression darkened and he made a slight move towards Bart. Lois felt a slight, fleeting pressure against her arm, and then Bart was gone with a parting laugh, the door slamming behind him. Clark threw an annoyed look at the door before directing his gaze at her arm. Lois looked down and laughed.

Bart's name and number were scrawled in messy blue print across her arm, complete with a big misshapen heart.

Oliver passed through the room, and laughed when he saw Bart's parting gift. "I see Bart's taken a liking to you, Lois."

"I liked him," she agreed with a grin, prodding her inked arm. Clark scowled further, and she snorted at his expression. She leaned up and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Relax, Smallville. There's someone I like a whole lot more."

Clark's smile was blinding. "Oh yeah?"

"Yes," she said feigning seriousness and attempting to keep a straight face. "AC."

Clark growled. "Oh yeah? Well I'd like to see AC do _this_."

Clark swept her up into his arms suddenly and sped out of Oliver's apartment, Lois laughing against his chest the whole way.

* * *

_One day Later._

"There you are."

Lois turned as Clark walked off the elevator and made his way to their joined desks to sit down across from her. It had been only a day since he had sent Doomsday away, and she was still attempting to regain some sense of normalcy. The two of them had returned to work today, for the first time since the attack.

He leaned back in the chair and smiled brightly. "I came by earlier, but you weren't here."

She shrugged. "I was visiting Chloe."

Clark nodded, understanding. He hadn't known originally just how much she was dealing with when he had came back, coping both with his 'death' _and_ Chloe's hospitalization. And in her shock over Clark's return, Lois had momentarily forgotten all else until she had switched her cell phone back on the next day to find a frantic phone call from Jimmy, the only words comprehendible in the whole message being "Chloe", "critical", and "hurry". Lois had gotten Clark to speed her to the hospital immediately.

"She's around here somewhere," Lois had muttered tersely as she sped down the hall, Clark hot on her heels. She had jumped back in shock when she nearly plowed Jimmy down as he rounded the corner.

"Lois!" Jimmy had cried. "I was starting to wonder if you fell off the face of the earth. You too, CK. Where've you been?"

"Never mind that! What happened? Is Chloe okay? Jimmy, where is she?" Lois' hands had made their way to the collar of Jimmy's shirt, shaking him slightly. Jimmy looked positively alarmed.

"What are you –?"

"The message! The phone message! You called and said –"

"Oh – _oh_," he realized. "Lois, that message is from yesterday."

"_I know what day it's from!"_ Another violent shake. Out of the corner of her eye, she had seen Clark edge closer, fearful for Jimmy's safety, no doubt.

"Lois, Chloe's fine! There was a moment yesterday when things didn't look good, but they managed to stabilize her. The doctor said it's going to take some time, but she'll make a full recovery." Jimmy smiled at her widely, clearly waiting for her to do the same. His smile faded when he noticed the look of murderous rage on her face. "L-Lois?"

"You didn't think that maybe, just maybe," Lois' voice carried a quiet, deadly tone, "you should have left a _second message telling me that?!_"

"Well –" Jimmy took a step backwards.

With an enraged cry, she lurched forward, stopped only by Clark's arms suddenly fastened securely around her waist, holding her back.

"Olsen, you better be glad you're already in a hospital, because in about _two seconds _–"

"She's awake!" Jimmy said quickly. "She's been asking for you. You can go visit her now, if you want."

The fight left her immediately, and she smoothed her shirt. "Why didn't you say so?"

Pulling out of Clark's reach, she marched past the two men and down the hall into her cousin's room. She paused at the door and looked back at Jimmy. "This," she said, gesturing between them with narrowed eyes, "isn't over, Jimbo."

Jimmy looked faint.

He gave a shaky laugh as Lois disappeared from sight, pulling a hand through his hair. "Hell of a week, huh CK?"

Clark gave his friend a small smile. "You have no idea, Jimmy."

"Speaking of Chloe," Lois said slowly. She was hoping to breech the subject of Clark's situation with his best friend delicately. Clark had been extremely uncomfortable around her cousin at the hospital, only coming in the room for a few minutes before ducking away. Chloe was no different; she seemed to be both torn about the distant tension and awkward about the situation herself. "Have either of you two had the chance to really talk yet?"

Clark was silent for a moment. "I stopped by the hospital to see her this morning."

"And things between you two are…?"

Clark regarded her quietly. She wasn't prying, he knew; she was genuinely curious about how things were now between both him and Chloe. It pained him a bit to admit that he didn't really have a straight answer yet.

"Truthfully," he sighed, "I don't know. We talked about it; what she did with Davis and everything, but I'm not sure where to go from here. Chloe's been my best friend since the eighth grade and I don't want to lose that friendship, but right now… I can't help but think that maybe if I hadn't –"

"Smallville, what happened with Chloe and Davis isn't your fault," she cut him off. When Clark looked skeptical, she sighed and plowed on, deciding to cut any brooding off at the source. "Look, Chloe and Davis met before you even knew he existed. And I know that you'll argue that if you weren't here he wouldn't be either, but I don't think that that matters." She paused for a minute. "Chloe is my cousin, and I love her, but she _did_ make her own decisions. She did what she did because she _chose_ to do so. Maybe what she did was wrong, or maybe she could have done things differently, but the bottom line is that Chloe made her choices. And that doesn't make it your fault. We always have a choice. Just like it's your choice about whether or not you're going to forgive her."

"I _do _want to forgive her," he admitted. "But even if I do, I think it will be a while before I can trust her again completely."

"I don't think that will be a problem," Lois smiled, taking a sip of her coffee. "I'm willing to bet that Chloe would be more than happy to work up to that trust again."

Clark smiled at the woman across from her. "Thank you, Lois. I needed to hear that."

"One save at a time," she winked.

A sudden flash alerted them to another presence. Jimmy stood by their desks, his camera in hand.

Lois scowled as she blinked away spots. "You're already on my hit list for that stunt you pulled with the phone messages. You really think blinding me is going to get yourself back into my good graces?"

"I just thought I'd let you know that I'm officially reinstated as a Daily Planet photographer," Jimmy said proudly. "You were the one encouraging me to come back, after all."

"Congratulations, Jimmy," Clark said warmly.

"Right. So no more dramatic exits, okay?" Lois said seriously. "Or bartending stints. The Daily Planet is where you belong."

Jimmy smiled. "I had no idea you were so sentimental, Lois."

"Sentimental? About you?" Lois laughed. "Please, Olsen; I just keep you around because I'm going to need someone to snap the photo when I win my Pulitzer." Her eyes drifted off to a coworker waving her over. "Hold on, I'll be right back."

Jimmy grinned. "She can say what she wants; I still think she's sentimental."

Clark watched her leave before turning back to Jimmy. "So things are looking up again, Jimmy?" When Jimmy simply nodded, Clark began awkwardly, "Look Jimmy, I um, I heard about the painkillers, and I just wanted to make sure–"

"Oh." Jimmy shook his head, looking faintly ashamed. "There's no need to worry about that anymore CK, I'm clean."

"That's good to hear," Clark said sincerely. And it was: he felt slightly guilty for the lack of attention Jimmy had received in the wake of his and Chloe's divorce.

"Yeah, I stopped with a little help from Oliver. And then Lois found out recently, and trust me, I'm done for good. Scariest two hours of my life." When Clark looked curious, Jimmy elaborated. "Let's just say that if all junkies went to see Lois Lane about their problems, Metropolis' drug dealers would be out of a job."

Clark still looked slightly confused, but Jimmy held up his camera and said, "I should go: I'm supposed to be shooting the opening of some new environment-friendly power plant in an hour. I'll talk to you later."

Jimmy made his way through the desks towards the doors, passing Lois on her way back to her seat.

"I'm glad he's back," Clark said as Lois sat back down. "Although I'm surprised he managed to convince Tess to give him his job back."

"Actually, our resident ice queen Tess Mercer isn't even our editor anymore. I just heard; apparently she's giving up her power in the Daily Planet to spend more time working on advancing Luthorcorp."

"Who's editor, then?" Clark frowned.

"I don't know. Apparently we're getting someone new. I only caught parts of the conversation. Parker? Perry? Something like that. We'll find out tomorrow anyway," Lois shrugged. She looked up at Clark's pensive face and snorted. "Please don't tell me you're actually disappointed that she's gone."

"Not really," he said dryly. "Tess Mercer and I didn't exactly see eye to eye. Besides, she had some weird ideas about me."

She raised an eyebrow. "Like?"

Answering truthfully, he said dryly, "Long story short, she seemed to think that I was the alien version of the second coming."

Lois stared at him for a minute, trying to gage whether or not he was joking. Even when she realized he wasn't, she burst out laughing.

"I knew she had some sort of weird worshiping thing going on," she said between laughs, "but I thought she had the hots for you. I didn't think she _worship_ worshiped you."

"It's not funny," he protested. But he was smiling too, happy to see her laughing.

"Of course it is! She probably had an alter in her penthouse dedicated to you, complete with one of your flannel shirts as the centerpiece!" Once her laughter subsided, Lois leaned back in her chair and said, "At least now everything can start going back to normal."

Clark raised an eyebrow. "You want everything to go back to normal?"

Lois looked surprised. "You don't?"

Clark looked down to where his hand had moved to cover hers, his thumb stroking the back of her hand lightly. "Not exactly."

Lois smiled, looking pleased.

"So Lois, I was wondering," Clark said slowly. "Do you think maybe you'd want to go to dinner with me after work?"

"First you kiss me, then you tell me you love me, then you _die_, then you come back, kiss me again, tell me you love me again, and _then_ you ask me out?" Lois raised an eyebrow. "Got the steps a bit backwards, don't you Smallville?"

"Better late than never," he grinned. "Besides, when have you and I ever done anything traditionally?"

She pursed her lips. "True."

She stood up and made her way towards the elevator. He followed her as she went. "Where are you going?"

"I'm covering the reconstruction efforts downtown," she answered, stepping into the elevator. Clark reached out to stop the doors from closing.

"So will you go to dinner with me?" he asked hopefully.

Lois regarded him with a slight smile. "Are you going to show up this time?"

"Lois!" he exclaimed, embarrassed. His voice softened. "Of course I will."

"Just checking Smallville."

"So, you'll come?"

Lois reached forward and pulled him into the elevator, out of view from their coworkers. She pulled him down for a slow, sensual kiss, pulling on his bottom lip slightly and making him groan as she pulled away. She smiled at his goofy, dazed expression.

"Why not?" she winked, before sending him back out of the elevator.

Clark grinned widely at her before the doors closed. "I'll see you later, Lois."

"See you around, Smallville." She smiled as the doors closed. And the best part was this time, she knew she really would. And that was good enough for her.

* * *

**I wouldn't mind if this is how they kicked off Season 9, in my own opinion :)**

**So I'd like to state that I had the PZ crystal planned **_**way**_** before "Injustice" aired (where apparently they destroyed Clark's (?)), so I'm still going to go with it, rather than spend days trying to figure out a new ending. Besides, Clark got this one from the Fortress, not his barn, so I guess it still works. Plust the PZ leaves it open for Dooms to return when Clark becomes Superman. So that's all I've got for now guys. Please let me now what you think, whether it's about the last chapter, or the story in general. :) **

**Songs Used:**

**More Time - Needtobreath**

**What About Now - Chris Daughtry**

**Sweet and Low - Augustana**

**We Could Be Heroes - The Wall flowers (-- Totally corny sounding, I know, but if fics had end credits, I would so play that song for this one.)**

**Reviews are loved! Hope you enjoy the finale!**


End file.
